Oh my. It looks as though the Cousins' War may be back on. Leave it to Mittster--he's managed to embarrass himself and 310 million of us and antagonize the British P.M. in record diplomatic time.
Mitt, you see, finds England's Olympic atmosphere less regimentally satisfying than that of Salt Lake's imposed discipline. In fact, John Bull's mishandling of all this hubbub is downright "disconcerting," said Mitt, what with all those "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."
Graciousness. Always graciousness.
British honor, however, is being upheld by David Cameron, whom I'm liking more by the minute, even if he is devastating Britain's once-imperial economy:
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.
Ouch. You brute. I love it. Beneath that debonair accent there lurks the tongue of a righteous serpent.
I've done extensive travel throughout the world, usually, but not always for business, and I've always made it a point to not insult the local government. Remember the "Ugly American?" Romney doesn't have a clue.
Posted by: dr.e | July 26, 2012 at 01:44 PM
Let's see: Great Britain, Israel and Poland. The first question is, "Why those three?"
London is an obvious choice to remind everyone that he singl-handedly saved the Olympics. At this point, we can all be relieved that he didn't touch off World War III during the opening ceremonies.
I have to guess Israel was chosen so that Mitt can talk smack to the A-rabs. But don't you know, down deep in your heart, that he will tell the Israelites that the Mormons have found the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel over in America? And that can lead into a discussion about the nuances between off-shoring and outsourcing.
But I cannot figure out Poland. The only thing I can come up with is that Poland was arguably the epicenter for casting the yoke of Russian tyranny by the Soviet states. Shouldn't someone tell poor Mittens that Lech Walesa was a union leader and the epicenter was a strike? By the end of this trip, Poles will be telling Romney jokes.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | July 26, 2012 at 02:14 PM
Now that's a proper English gentleman, never unintentionally rude.
Posted by: Peter G | July 26, 2012 at 02:17 PM
The Magical Mittstery Tour is hoping to take you away, take you away!
Posted by: Peter G | July 26, 2012 at 03:34 PM
@Peter G: LOL
Seriously, can't you guys feel just a little sorry for him?
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | July 26, 2012 at 04:02 PM
@Robert:
*tries*
*tries really hard*
*gives up and goes back to belly laughs*
Posted by: Janicket | July 26, 2012 at 04:56 PM
Prince Charles might challenge him to a duel before it is over.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | July 26, 2012 at 05:08 PM
@Robert: Duh, you know why he's going to Poland :-) It's because of Obama's micro-gaffe that he committed there a few months ago. Now, Mitt can fly in and demonstrate that he's all so much more genuinely sensitive and understanding than that socialist Mau-Mau currently leading the U.S. You know he'll get some dig in at Obama's already long-forgotten gaffe, which will then get all the cable news chattertools talking about it again. Yes, Romney is flying all the way to Poland just to remind people of a gaffe that Obama committed months ago, which will then swing the polls .3% in Romney's favor for half a week, and the campaign churns on and on.
Posted by: Jason | July 26, 2012 at 05:19 PM
Ok, this may be off topic, but I watched clips of Mittsy's interview with Brian Williams on Lawrence O'Donnell's show last night, and when it came to questions of gun control, it looked like some kind of hostage video. It was as though he was struggling to say the exact words his captors wanted him to say to save his life. On the tax thing, he came off as the typical elitist arrogant jag-off he is. Now London has had a sneak preview of what they may be getting in a foreign leader next year. Fuck the queen, god save us all.
Posted by: AnneJ | July 26, 2012 at 05:57 PM
@Jason: I think you are getting to something fundamental there. Romney has always been one of the "cool kids". So, he is used to getting big laughs and attaboys for pointing out that one of the "un-cool kids" is wearing the wrong shoes or something. So, he keeps trying to point out that Obama is not one of the "cool kids".
@AnneJ: You are absolutely on topic and better define why I tend to have a modicum of sympathy for Mitt.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | July 27, 2012 at 10:32 AM