Romney In London: Not A Smashing Success So Far

From NPR:

First there was the kerfuffle over remarks, attributed by a British newspaper to an anonymous campaign adviser, that Romney understood the shared "Anglo-Saxon heritage" between the U.S. and Britain in a way President Obama didn't. Those comments were viewed as racist by some and were disowned by the Romney campaign.

Then the candidate himself caused a dust-up by saying he found "disconcerting" security and other glitches in the run-up to Friday's opening ceremony. It didn't help that at the same time, he appeared to express doubt about the eventual success of the games:

"You know, it's hard to know just how well it will turn out," Romney said.

And

And as if that weren't enough, Romney breached British protocol by telling reporters publicly that he met with Sir John Sawers, the head of the British intelligence agency known as MI6. Such meetings are typically not acknowledged, according to British news outlets.

This was the start of a three-nation trip including Poland and Israel whose purpose was partly for Romney to demonstrate his foreign policy chops and stature on the world stage. It obviously wasn't getting off to the best start.

More here.

As I wrote when I posted a similar article on facebook earlier today, "The guy who thinks Obama doesn't understand the 'special relationship' between the 'Anglo-Saxon' cultures of the US and UK goes to England and pisses off the English." The inherent racism in the "Anglo-Saxon" comment, attributed by a British newspaper to a Romney staffer, is bad enough, but the fact that the former Massachusetts governor doesn't seem to understand how to speak to the UK is potentially worse: if Romney is pissing off our closest and best ally in the entire fucking world, how's he going to offend everybody else? Seriously, everybody continues to believe that the GOP is traditionally better at foreign policy than the Democrats, but Romney seems to be as adept with diplomatic language as he is at appearing to be a regular guy, that is, not at all.

Frankly, it's time for the Republican reputation for excellence in foreign affairs to go; after eight years of Cowboy Bush, and now Romney's "let them eat cake" attitude extended to our closest ally, how can anybody at all think the GOP knows jack shit about diplomacy?

But the real reason I posted this was the delicious irony. Romney's campaign issues a statement essentially saying that only a white man can understand the profound nuances of the British/American alliance, and then goes onto illustrate that said white man, Mittens himself, is a total fucktard when it comes to things British. How will the usual demagogues spin this one?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$