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David Cameron & Mitt Romney: Not BFFs (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
So I guess the MittBot didn’t get his ForeignTravelChip upgrade prior to his “interview” with NBC Nightly “We’re in London Now!” Newsreader Brian Williams. Mitt made some unfortunate comments about the possible security problems at the Olympics™ these next two weeks.
Mitt Romney found that all politics are, in fact, local after being forced Thursday to clarify remarks about London’s preparation for the Olympics, which prompted a minor uproar in the British press.
In his interview last night with NBC’s Brian Williams, Romney called several logistical issues at the 2012 Olympic games here “disconcerting” — including a contracted security firm’s failure to provide enough personnel — and said that a possible planned strike by customs and immigration officials was “not something which is encouraging.”
Apparently, the Romney campaign has done damage control, although Mitt’s meeting with the Odious David Cameron was frosty, by all reports, despite both men’s adherence to an Austerity™ program that was debunked in the 1937 recession but is somehow finding rabid adherents in Europe and among the ruling class in America.
But Cameron couldn’t resist the opportunity to comment upon Romney’s supposed expertise in the Olympics™ security arena even as Romney tried to undo his damage:
Romney tried to defuse controversy sparked by comments he made to NBC on Wednesday, when he cited potentially “disconcerting” problems with security and immigration staffing at the London games and said, “It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out.”
Prime Minister David Cameron, sounding irritated, responding by telling reporters: “You’re going to see beyond doubt that Britain can deliver.”
He also noted that London is “one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world.” In a possible swipe at Salt Lake City, which hosted the Olympics that Romney organized in 2002, he added: “Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.”
“The middle of nowhere” = Salt Lake City. Nice one, Minister. Have you noticed how quiet the Obama campaign has been the past few days, too? “Don’t throw your opponent a life preserver when he’s drowning” seems to be their motto. Mitt’s European Jaunt seems to provide plenty of its own self-destruction without comment from Obama.
25 Comments
Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.”
You know, Cameron got a twofer out of this – not only a swipe at the Olympics that Mitt headed up, but the Olympics that was held in, if not the birthplace of the LDS Church, definitely the beating heart and brain of Mormonism, of which Romney is a very involved participant. The only thing Cameron did not bring up was sister wives.
Well played, Mr. Cameron.
Mitt’s got a long history of this sort of gaffing. From a list from 2008:
Not exactly fast on his feet, is he?
reccd Tedster!
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaaa
foot in mouth disease
Maybe Mitt shouldn’t go to Poland or Israel. I shudder to think what he will say in Israel but I’ll bet they won’t let him meet with their version of MI6.
I can just picture what fun the Bush Family is having at Mitt’s expense this evening.
I enjoyed his remarks about having seen the “backside” of “No. 10″; calling Milliband “Mr. Leader” and blabbering about insights gained from meeting the head of MI6.
Twitter commentary from Britain is quite devastating. There’s a #RomneyShambles hashtag, as well as comments from the press like “Worse Than Palin” and “America’s Barat”
Simply horrible for Mitt, who is doing damage control on CNN’s Piers Morgan program tonight. Spot the douchier douchebag!
Oh, there’s still the Horse Prom event, an opportunity for Cameron to say something like “Oh, which one?” when the press asks him about Romney’s wife’s horse….
I just heard the end of the report about his meeting with MI6, which as Young Ezra pointed out, has only been acknowledged to even exist by the British government for about fifteen years….
Nice to see the English press really give it to Romney. The American MSM would heel and say “it’s just Mitt being Mitt” or some mindless nonsense like that.
A guy from Huffpo, speaking on MSNBC, said that Mitt actually met Judy Dench aka M from James Bond and was just a bit confused… they also played the Benny Hill theme music along with clips- very appropriate!
Such a great first day- looking forward to the next installment!
I hope you don’t get tired of typing that. It’s still more than three months till the election.
The shame of it is, he can do real damage on his Israel stop. I wonder if the press there will question him about how many dead Jews he personally has baptized into Mormonism post-mortem?
poof! the media has killed the story
Mitt says Obama does not understand Anglo Saxon values perhaps the Obama team needs to start making jokes about Ethelred the Unready.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Æthelred_the_Unready
Mitt’s comments are GOP code for Obama is not White. But any student of Anglo Saxon history who was aware of Mitt’s many gaffe’s speaking politically should have warned Mitt to avoid this line of questioning.
Funny a Mexican in America and not the British Press as far as I’ve seen has picked this up first:).
You don’t need to be White to understand Anglo Saxon values. If only Harold’s troops had kept formation or if Harold the second had given his troops a Day’s rest after defeating the Vikings then making a forced march to fight the Normans then Anglo Saxon values and not rich guys who can afford armor and a horse would have prevailed in Europe.
The Anglo Saxon two handed axes were defeating the Norman knights until they broke formation but even then if Harold’s army had had a day of rest they still might have won.
Thanks to that battle the inefficient cost un effective armored knights became the template for Europe’s armies until the longbow and the pike both must cheaper weapons ended the knight/rich control of Europe’s military.
If anything Mitt represents Norman values and Mitt’s success if anything relies on Obama/Harold’s mistakes.
Mitt in proud Norman tradition favors Missile defense systems that will cost billions which can be defeated by cheap multiple decoy missiles and more ships, planes, tanks which can also be defeated by cheaper missiles.
The Russians and Iran both have super sonic anti Ship, plane missiles the West has not one super sonic missile.
Our Military thinking is Norman pre longbow its designed to keep the rich getting huge military contracts with the added benefit of keeping the rich off the field of battle.
Translation Mitt is so rude that even those who should be his friends have to distance themselves from him. One wonders how you can lead with such horrible people skills.
What does Mitt mean by immigration staffing?
Good point Mitt has people they should be briefing Mitt on the names and titles of the people he meets after all nobody gets a meeting with Mitt unless they are important.
What normal person takes a meeting with someone and does not learn their name?
Of course maybe Mitt is not reading the briefings his people write? That would explain Mitt’s many political gaffes but that does not recommend Mitt as a Leader now does it.
Mitt wanted this trip to give him Foreign policy Cred and to attack Obama on his foreign policy right now Mitt is losing Cred.
Its hard to claim you understand Anglo Saxon values and Obama does not when you end up insulting and getting laughed at by all England even the Normans, Welsh, Scots, etc.
The English ended slavery centuries before the Mormons let Africans become full members of the LDS church in the 1970′s.
England aside from being anti slavery, also has National Healthcare question does Mitt knows what he means when he says Anglo Saxon values?
Good thread Teddy you gave me lots of material to rant and rank Mitt on:).
Noam Chomsky posted an article the other day about the Magna Carta — it was TWO charters — one a Charter of Liberties, the other a Charter of the Forest, as in protection of the commons. When there was a commons. The forest was the common source of wealth and livelihood, and you damn well protected it, not extracted it to death and ruin. Would LOVE to hear more about that. (Mitt? David?)
All of a sudden English history is looking really interesting to me. The Guardian had a recent article about John Clare Day:
The break from commons to private property, from community to individual greed. Makes me wonder about so many things that I hadn’t before. Commonwealth. The John Clare article is heartbreaking. Is this a natural part of history that British people learn the way we learn about the Declaration of Independence? One of the interesting things I learned was that what we know of as the Magna Carta is an 18th-century reconstruction — the original is lost to time.
(EPU: Our E pleb neesta.)
I am sure Mitt would insist protecting the Commons was too much government regulation and insist that making a buck off the land was more important than protecting the environment.
England also restricted hunting by the poor to preserve wild game for the rich I am sure Mitt would approve of that just as long as the English nobles were not trying to preserve a species from extinction.
I wonder just what Anglo Saxon values Mitt claims to understand better than Obama can because Obama is black and Mitt is white?
I wonder how many Anglo Saxon values Mitt has flipped flopped on support of?
Dear Things,
Never in a million years did I expect to see a reference to Bosworth and Toller’s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary anywhere, let alone on a blog!
Thanks for the history lesson.