RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Vetting Romney

Because he's a retard.

“We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere,” said Cameron, which was interpreted as a reference to Salt Lake City and Utah.

Romney follows up ‘Anglo-Saxon’ gaffe by disparaging Olympic readiness
By David Ferguson
Thursday, July 26, 2012 10:31 EDT Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon111 Topics: London ♦ Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ♦ mitt romney

Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is frantically trying to walk back disparaging comments he made about London’s readiness to host the Olympics, and for casting doubt on Britain’s willingness to “come together and celebrate the Olympic moment,” according to the Agence France Presse.

Mending this gaffe comes just days after Romney faced sharp criticism for a remark an anonymous foreign policy adviser made to reporter John Swaine of the Telegraph. The aide reportedly said that a Romney administration would restore “Anglo-Saxon” values to the special relationship enjoyed by the U.S. and the U.K., a statement that struck many as overtly racist.

It was in an interview in London with NBC’s Brian Williams that Romney said that he found stories he was hearing about London’t readiness for the Olympic Games “disconcerting.”


“It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out,” he said of the games and the lapses in security that have surrounded them, “There are a few things that were disconcerting. The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials — that obviously is not something which is encouraging.”

He also questioned British people’s willingness to embrace the Games.

“Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment?” he asked. “That’s something which we only find out once the Games actually begin.”

The candidate has spent Thursday on damage-control, trying to minimize long-term impact to his campaign.

In a meeting with Labour Party leader Ed Miliband that Romney began to try to walk back his statements, saying that “(i)t is impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur” in something as large and complicated as the Olympic Games.

“Of course there will be errors from time to time,” he said, “but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes.”


The BBC has pointed out that Romney appeared to not know Miliband’s name, instead calling him “Mr. Leader.”

Vice President Joe Biden has criticized Romney’s remarks. “Despite his promises that politics stops at the water’s edge, Gov. Romney’s wheels hadn’t even touched down in London before his advisers were reportedly playing politics with international diplomacy,” Biden said in a statement.

“The comments reported this morning are a disturbing start to a trip designed to demonstrate Gov. Romney’s readiness to represent the United States on the world’s stage … This assertion is beneath a presidential campaign.”

Romney will leave the U.K. later this week to continue his trip in Poland and Israel.

UPDATE: British Prime Minister David Cameron has responded to Romney’s comments, saying in a press conference, “You’re going to see beyond doubt that Britain can deliver.”

Cameron hit back at Romney, saying that perhaps the Utah Winter Olympics were easier to assemble, given that they were not being staged in a metropolis like London.

“We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world. Of course it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.”

Cameron went on to say, “I think we will show the whole world not just that we come together as a United Kingdom but also we’re extremely good at welcoming people from across the world. I will obviously make those points to Mitt Romney. I look forward to meeting him.”

UPDATE 2: Romney gaffed again when he told reporters outside the residence of Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron that he had just met with the head of Britain’s top secret MI6, an organization so cloaked in mystery that it is rarely even acknowledged in public. It is highly unusual that anyone from MI6 would meet with an agent of a foreign government, particularly one who is not yet elected to the office for which he is campaigning.

The Telegraph quotes Patrick Mercer MP, a former chairman of the House of Commons’s intelligence and security sub-committee, as saying, “It is very unusual. The head of MI6’s time is extremely precious. I wonder if this does not set a strange precedent where other leaders of other oppositions will also want similar briefings.”

Guardian blogger Tom McCarthy wrote, “For our American readership, this isn’t like bragging you just met David Petraeus. The British take on the national secret intelligence service comes with an extra-heavy dollop of the whole secret thing. The very existence of the MI6 was not officially acknowledged until 1994.”

McCarthy continued, “Good luck, Romney handlers: this is only stop No. 1 on a three-stop international tour. What will he say in Jerusalem?”

What, indeed?

I dunno, they're calling Romney "Mitt the Twit" across the pond. Not sure if I would be so quick to speak for them.

It's still miles above sending a bust of Winston Churchill (a gift from the British government) back to the British embassy with intended hostility and insult

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lately, there’s been a rumor swirling around about the current location of the bust of Winston Churchill. Some have claimed that President Obama removed the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and sent it back to the British Embassy.

Now, normally we wouldn’t address a rumor that’s so patently false, but just this morning the Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer repeated this ridiculous claim in his column. He said President Obama “started his Presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office.”

This is 100% false. The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/...ston-churchill

The Telegraph

As Telegraph readers will recall, one of the earliest actions of the Obama presidency when it came to office in 2009 was to return a bust of Sir Winston Churchill to the British Embassy, an extraordinary move considering the huge admiration for the wartime leader on both sides of the Atlantic. Tim Shipman, The Sunday Telegraph’s Washington correspondent at the time (now Deputy Political Editor at The Daily Mail), was the first to break the story:

• A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government's art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back. The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure. But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."

The decision to return the bust naturally sparked outrage at home and abroad, and has caused considerable embarrassment over the years for the Obama administration. This week the White House has stumbled again over the Churchill bust issue (hat tip Keith Koffler at the terrific White House Dossier blog.)

In response to an article by Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer published on Friday, which highlighted the decision to return the bust, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer tried to rubbish The Post piece, issuing a statement on Saturday that the bust was, despite all the evidence to the contrary, still in the White House:

• Lately, there’s been a rumor swirling around about the current location of the bust of Winston Churchill. Some have claimed that President Obama removed the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and sent it back to the British Embassy.
  
  Now, normally we wouldn’t address a rumor that’s so patently false, but just this morning the Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer repeated this ridiculous claim in his column. He said President Obama “started his Presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office.”
  
  This is 100% false. The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room. News outlets have debunked this claim time and again. First, back in 2010 the National Journal reported that “the Churchill bust was relocated to a prominent spot in the residence to make room for Abraham Lincoln, a figure from whom the first African-American occupant of the Oval Office might well draw inspiration in difficult times.”
  
  And just in case anyone forgot, just last year the AP reported that President Obama “replaced the Oval Office fixture with a bust of one of his American heroes, President Abraham Lincoln, and moved the Churchill bust to the White House residence.”
  
  In case these news reports are not enough for Mr. Krauthammer and others, here’s a picture of the President showing off the Churchill bust to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House residence in 2010. Hopefully this clears things up a bit and prevents folks from making this ridiculous claim again.

The British Embassy in Washington, however, was quick to correct Pfeiffer’s remarks, its spokesman telling ABC’s Jake Tapper:

• The bust of Sir Winston Churchill, by Sir Jacob Epstein, was lent to the George W. Bush administration from the U.K.’s government art collection, for the duration of the presidency. When that administration came to an end so did the loan; the bust now resides in the British Ambassador’s Residence in Washington D.C. The White House collection has its own Epstein bust of Churchill, which President Obama showed to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House in March.

Mr. Pfeiffer was subsequently forced to publish an embarrassing, though still defiant, mea culpa in the form of an ”update”, acknowledging that the bust of Churchill loaned to the White House by the British government had indeed been removed from the Oval Office by the Obama administration:

• Since my post on the fact that the bust of Winston Churchill has remained on display in the White House, despite assertions to the contrary, I have received a bunch of questions — so let me provide some additional info. The White House has had a bust of Winston Churchill since the 1960’s. At the start of the Bush administration Prime Minister Blair lent President Bush a bust that matched the one in the White House, which was being worked on at the time and was later returned to the residence.
  
  The version lent by Prime Minister Blair was displayed by President Bush until the end of his Presidency. On January 20, 2009 — Inauguration Day — all of the art lent specifically for President Bush’s Oval Office was removed by the curator’s office, as is common practice at the end of every presidency. The original Churchill bust remained on display in the residence. The idea put forward by Charles Krauthammer and others that President Obama returned the Churchill bust or refused to display the bust because of antipathy towards the British is completely false and an urban legend that continues to circulate to this day.

The White House clearly owes Charles Krauthammer, one of America’s sharpest and most well-informed columnists, an apology. Mr. Krauthammer thoroughly researches his articles, and is meticulously careful with his facts. And as for the Churchill bust itself it would be wonderful to see it eventually back in the Oval Office (with the good graces of the British government) in recognition of the great wartime prime minister, and the enduring importance and vital role of the US-UK Special Relationship.

The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure. But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."

The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure. But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks."

There's a difference though from talking about a shared Anglo-Saxon heritage between two countries and saying Obama doesn't understand that heritage. Why would Obama as a fellow American understand that heritage any less than Romney? After the Sununu comment it does look like Romney is going there.

White House wants Romney to explain Israel remarks
By Agence France-Presse
Monday, July 30, 2012 19:58 EDT Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon69 Topics: republican presidential hopeful mitt romney ♦ the White House ♦ white house

WASHINGTON — The White House called Monday on Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to explain recent remarks including his apparent endorsement of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a position that counters US policy.

Romney, in the midst of a three-nation tour, gave a speech Sunday in Jerusalem where he hailed the city as “the capital of Israel,” in apparent support of a position held by the Jewish state but never accepted by the global community.

The comment was swiftly rejected by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat as “unacceptable” and “harmful to American interests in our region.”


But after Romney made fresh controversial statements Monday to donors in Jerusalem including suggesting Israeli “culture” helped explain the country’s economic success — a position Erakat denounced as “racist” — President Barack Obama’s office urged Romney to clarify his comments.

“One of the challenges of being an actor on the international stage, particularly when you’re traveling to such a sensitive part of the world, is that your comments are very closely scrutinized for meaning, for nuance, for motivation,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said about the Monday remarks.

The comments have left some people “scratching their heads a little bit,” Earnest told reporters at the daily White House briefing. “But I would leave it to governor Romney to further explain what he meant and what he intended when he said that.”

Earnest said Romney’s position on Jerusalem, the eastern half of which Palestinians claim as the capital of a promised future state, runs counter to longstanding US policy.

“It’s the view of this administration that the capital is something that should be determined in final status negotiations between the parties,” Earnest said.

“If Mr. Romney disagrees with that position, he’s also disagreeing with the position that was taken by presidents like Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.”

White House wants Romney to explain Israel remarks

...At the Jerusalem fundraiser, Romney offered additional ammunition for his critics when he pointed out the general good health of the Israeli people and their ability to keep medical costs down. Noting that healthcare spending in Israel is 8% of GDP compared with 18% in the U.S., he said, "We have to find ways, not just to provide healthcare to more people, but to find ways to find and manage our healthcare costs."

Israel, however, has a national healthcare system, with some similarities to the President Obama-backed U.S. healthcare plan Romney has vowed to repeal. (The Obama plan was based on the Massachusetts plan Romney approved as governor.)

...

Romney aide to reporters: ‘Kiss my *ss; this is a holy site’
By David Edwards
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 8:46 EDT Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon122 Topics: presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney ♦ Reporters ♦ Rick Gorka

A Romney aide frustrated by questions about a series of gaffes the former Massachusetts governor made while Britain, Israel and Poland exploded on Monday and told reporters to “shove it.”

During a visit to a memorial to Pope John Paul II in Poland, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney ignored questions from reporters about his overseas gaffes and his suggestion that Israelis were culturally superior to Palestinians, but traveling press secretary Rick Gorka responded with rage.

“This is a holy site for the Polish people,” Gorka said. “Show some respect.”


“We haven’t had another chance to ask some questions,” the reporter explained.

“Kiss my ass; this is a holy site for the Polish people,” Gorka shot back, adding, “Shove it.”

The aide later called two of the reporters to apologize, according to Politico.

“It was inappropriate,” Gorka admitted.

So in your mind Romney didn't actually say what the press reported but made it up?

BTW you left out that Walesa's union doesn't endorse Romney. Since he's firmly anti-union it's odd that Walesa would.

As mentioned before, as soon as George W. Bush had to take on Islam, ...

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-1-2012/you--harry-reid--are-terrible

Bush called Islam a religion of peace after 9/11 so when you say "take on" perhaps you should clarify what you mean.

"Islam is Peace" Says President
Remarks by the President at Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.



View the President's Remarks
Listen to the President's Remarks

3:12 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for your hospitality. We've just had a -- wide-ranging discussions on the matter at hand. Like the good folks standing with me, the American people were appalled and outraged at last Tuesday's attacks. And so were Muslims all across the world. Both Americans and Muslim friends and citizens, tax-paying citizens, and Muslims in nations were just appalled and could not believe what we saw on our TV screens.

These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. And it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that.

The English translation is not as eloquent as the original Arabic, but let me quote from the Koran, itself: In the long run, evil in the extreme will be the end of those who do evil. For that they rejected the signs of Allah and held them up to ridicule.

The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.

When we think of Islam we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace. And that's made brothers and sisters out of every race -- out of every race.

America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads. And they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.

Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes. Moms who wear cover must be not intimidated in America. That's not the America I know. That's not the America I value.

I've been told that some fear to leave; some don't want to go shopping for their families; some don't want to go about their ordinary daily routines because, by wearing cover, they're afraid they'll be intimidated. That should not and that will not stand in America.

Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior.

This is a great country. It's a great country because we share the same values of respect and dignity and human worth. And it is my honor to be meeting with leaders who feel just the same way I do. They're outraged, they're sad. They love America just as much as I do.

I want to thank you all for giving me a chance to come by. And may God bless us all.