Rahm: Romney's European Vacation Proof He Isn't Presidential Material
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 31, 2012 4:40PM
By most measures Mitt Romney has made a mess of his three-country overseas tour, with an escalating series of faux pas culminating in his traveling press secretary Rick Gorka to tell reporters near Poland’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to “kiss (his) ass” and “shove it” today.
Romney’s attempt to show he could be diplomatic—the worst European vacation since the Griswolds crossed the Atlantic—led Mayor Rahm Emanuel to add his two cents about the former Massachusetts governor’s readiness for prime time. Emanuel told the Tribune, “I don’t know how he’ll handle the head of state job. He’s made a mess of being a tourist.”
Romney’s staff billed his trip as an opportunity to “learn and listen.” So far he’s done neither. Among Romney’s miscues:
- Stepped away from a comment from an anonymous foreign policy adviser that a Romney presidency would restore “Anglo-Saxon relations” between Britain and the U.S.
- Criticized Great Britain’s preparation for the London Summer Olympics.
- Suggested to attendees at a fundraiser in Jerusalem that Israeli culture contributed to Israel’s economic success, a comment leaders of Israeli-occupied Palestine decried as “racist.”
- Did not allow reporters to ask questions at that fundraiser. (Media was originally not allowed to attend.)
Obama 2012 spokeswoman Jen Paski said of Romney’s European stumbles, “He’s been fumbling the foreign policy football from country to country. And there’s a threshold question that he has to answer for the American people and that’s whether he’s prepared to be commander in chief.”
Romney’s campaign fired back, with spokesman Ryan Williams saying the Obama campaign was engaging in “political distractions and attacks.” And Williams is probably right here. But voters remember these things when it’s time to head to the polls in November.