In last Friday’s post I mentioned the supposed gaffe, where Romney was said to have criticized the London Olympics. In a very positive 9-minute interview, he acknowledges, in answer to a direct question from Brian Williams, that he is aware of concerns the Olympic planners are challenged with. He includes three main parts, two of which are very positive, and then the third, which is always an unknown until the games are underway. He was pulling for things to go well. The only thing he didn’t do was guarantee that all would be well, as though he were unaware of the specific challenges; that would have also been perceived negatively, as though he hadn’t been paying attention, when the Olympics are a huge and positive part of his record. All the rest of his public communications, and also his meeting with the Prime Minister, went well, and clearly he made a good impression there on everyone but the American press.
Here is the interview Piers Morgan had with Mitt and Ann Romney, definitely worth seeing.
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| Romney Pays Respects at the Western Wall of Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sacred Day of Mourning. Photo from Mitt Romney Central on Facebook |
The next part of the trip was to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is a long-time personal friend. He was respectful to the man (who had been snubbed by our sitting president during his visit to our country) and complimented the people and their culture. This was considered a “gaffe,” because he pointed out that the strong work ethic and the millennia-old Israeli culture has led to prosperity for the people. The comparison was made between per capita income of Jews versus Palestinians. It’s demonstrable with data; the only error was in overestimating Palestinian per capita income by several thousand dollars. No matter what the press claim, this was a positive development between US relations and our greatest ally in the Middle East.
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| Lech Walesa and Mitt Romney photo from Mitt Romney Central on Facebook |
Then there’s Poland, where Romney complimented the people, who have regained freedom from tyranny, and have continued economic progress where countries around them have lately fallen into recession. Lech Walesa endorsed Romney as his choice for president—not that he has a vote, but he clearly has a preference of who he’d rather deal with. The press complaint of Romney’s Poland visit says that an aid had a meltdown. Here’s what happened: they were having a sacred moment at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Rather than respecting the people and the moment, US press people called out rude, taunting “questions,” and were called on it at least twice before the aid used an expletive in pointing out their inappropriateness. That’s what the press thinks Romney should be embarrassed about?
Concerning the cluelessness of the media, radio host Hugh Hewitt says in his July 31st blog:
Press reaction to Romney's trip will make a great study in the years ahead on just how clueless and inept political reporters have become as a result on their dependency on each other and cable commentary to shape their world view. They don't talk to voters and they don't live among voters. Thus they invent stories that didn't happen and wouldn't matter if they did—a failed trip—even as they miss major events—Romney's speech in Israel—or major trends—the backlash against the enforcers threatening Chick-fil-A.
Meanwhile, back at campaign headquarters, here’s a chart showing money Obama et al. have poured into negative ads (because they can’t very well make ads about his record):
And this week Romney came out with this beautifully positive ad, called “Believe in Our Future”:
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