# Mr Candidate goes to London **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 26, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485 "2012-07-26T19:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/141 "2012-07-28T01:02:36Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Does anybody seriously expect him to be anything but a figurehead, and rubber stamp for whatever a GOP Congress sends him? > > Has anyone seen him take any sort of stand at all that would put him even a few degrees off the direction that the GOP base expects of him? > > As President, he’ll be John Boehner’s pet rock. That’s what we want, conservatives don’t trust him on his own. Now President OBama, what do you think he does? Is there anything Pelosi or Reid do that he has ever opposed? I think it was pretty clear that Pelosi and Reid were running things in the 2009-2010 period. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/142 "2012-07-28T01:15:29Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Let’s see. Here’s what the conservative [Daily Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9428764/Commentary-if-Mitt-Romney-doesnt-like-us-we-shouldnt-care.html) had to say: Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive. Romney can’t comment on the freaking Olympic games without creating a diplomatic incident? He refers the Leader of the Opposition as… Mr. Leader? WTF? His point man claims that the White House doesn’t understand the US and UK’s shared history, but Romney does because of his [Anglo Saxon heritage](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/romney_camp_mitt_will_bring_a_white_mans_touch.php). Colbert had a field day with that one. Finally the Mittster tops it all off by bragging about meeting with an MI6 rep, [forgetting that you’re not suppose to acknowledge the existence of that intelligence agency](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/79036.html) in public. > > Is this bumbler ready for prime time? unless i missed something, mr. obama’s maternal side is heavily english. i’m not quite understanding where romney is going with the anglo saxon heritage thing, as mr obama has an anglo saxon heritage. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/143 "2012-07-28T01:51:02Z")
And Kenya was a British colony when Obama was born. Except for a touch of Irish he could hardly be more British. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/144 "2012-07-28T02:05:04Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I hadn’t heard about Mitt impersonating a police officer. How bizarre is that? Ted Bundy did it to snag victims. So did Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono and goodness knows how many other serial killers. I’m not saying that Romney is a serial killer, but he does have the hobby of one. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/145 "2012-07-28T02:38:12Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > The only non-idiotic thing to come out of his mouth was to call the opposition guy “Mr. Leader”. That’s common protocol here, to use a title. I mean, right before the State of the Union speech, the Sergeant at Arms marches into the House Chamber and yells. “Mr./Madame Speaker, the President of the United States!” The Sergeant’s usually an old guy but presumably he knows the current Speaker’s name. But a statesman should know enough to follow the local customs on things like this. At least Romney didn’t say he wanted to congratulate Mrs Queen on her Diamond Jubilee. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/146 "2012-07-28T03:16:31Z")
Does anyone think that, come November, with the economy still in the shitter, anyone\* is going to care what Romney said about the Olympics in July? I think for Romney, the debates are going to be key. This might give us a glimpse of Romney’s weakness in the debates, but the issue itself is nothing. \*anyone who hasn’t already made up his mind about whom to vote for ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/147 "2012-07-28T03:23:32Z")
This may be the first election in a very long time where the Republicans come close to ceding foreign policy to the Democrats. Thanks to Romney’s bad trip, the Red Team can’t claim a lock on the issue. They’ll try, and they are already trying, but when your candidate underperforms this badly it’s a tough sell. Paris Hilton could have done better. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/148 "2012-07-28T03:29:33Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Oh, so he knows where Salt Lake City is. You can tell it’s in the middle of nowhere by all the nothing around it. Actually, [it’s in the northwest corner of nowhere.](http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/statesbw/fourcorners/4cbw.GIF) (shamelessly stolen from _The Colbert Report_) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/149 "2012-07-28T03:32:27Z")
Merged two threads on the topic of Romney’s UK trip. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/150 "2012-07-28T03:37:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Now President OBama, what do you think he does? Is there anything Pelosi or Reid do that he has ever opposed? I think it was pretty clear that Pelosi and Reid were running things in the 2009-2010 period. No one who paid the least attention and is not hopelessly biased could possibly think there is any truth to this statement. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/151 "2012-07-28T03:49:51Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > This is more disturbing than the public gaffes. “It’s a big exciting experience for my wife” … but I don’t care enough even to know when the event is taking place, much less watch it with her. > > OK, I get that running for President is a full time job and you have to disassociate yourself with hyper expensive sports like dressage (unlike NASCAR) in order to appeal to the common man, but this is your wife’s horse. In the freakin’ Olympics. Competing in the sport she chose to help treat her MS. And you’re not going to be watching. > > That’s pretty cold. Heck, even [President Obama](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/27/obama-loves-the-olympics-might-watch-romneys-horse-compete/) will be watching Ann’s horse perform if he can. > [@](#): > > Carney said Obama was well versed in many Americans competing in London. > > “His interests are very broad and he’s read up on a lot on our athletes and on the upcoming competitions and looks forward to catching as much of the games that he can, his schedule, being what it is,” Carney said. > > [snip] > > “He is interested in seeing every American entrant perform well and he’ll follow every event,” Carney answered when asked if Obama would watch Rafalca compete. “If his schedule allows, I think the answer to that question is yes.” Meanwhile, Der Spiegel weighs in on Romney’s embarrassments (English language edition): > **[Mitt Romney Stumbles During Campaign Trip to London](https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/mitt-romney-stumbles-during-campaign-trip-to-london-a-846722.html)** > > Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had been hoping to show off his foreign-policy credentials by traveling to Europe this week. Instead, he has committed one flub after another. The headlines have not been kind. I daresay the Germans are rather glad Mr. Mitt won’t be blessing them with his presence on this trip. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/152 "2012-07-28T04:14:33Z")
Please. Congressional Democrats have been complaining about his lack of leadership from Day 1. > **[Dems May Complain, But Obama’s Disengagement is Nothing New](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-may-complain-but-obamas-disengagement-is-nothing-new)** > > Democrats in Congress say they have grown frustrated with President Obama’s lack of leadership in their ongoing battle with Republicans over spending cuts. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/153 "2012-07-28T04:25:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Please. Congressional Democrats have been complaining about his lack of leadership from Day 1. > > [http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/15/dems-complain-obamas-disengagement-new/](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/15/dems-complain-obamas-disengagement-new/) That’s absurd. Obama doesn’t take stands on issues that he can’t win, and due to Congressional Republicans being in a _four year long retard-tantrum_ there are limited things that he has the position to get through. That said, he’s gotten a surprising amount done through the historic levels of blind, partisan obstructionism. If you think he hasn’t been leading, the only possible reason for that is because you don’t actually follow real news. Funfact: Fox News, what you linked to, is a 24 hour polemic. It’s not a real news source. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/154 "2012-07-28T04:33:45Z")
Not only do I pay attention, I have a long memory. I recall Bill clinton facing exactly the same problem and handling it very differently. Obstruction is only a problem if what you want done is something the public doesn’t want. if the public wants the President’s economic plans to go through, he can simply persuade the public that the Republicans are holding up SPECIFIC bills that would help. Instead, he just sends bills that he knows won’t pass to Congress and then doesn’t talk about them anymore except to his base. the President has done almost nothing to persuade the general public that his policies are useful, a shortcoming even he admitted just recently. Not that he’s taking steps to change it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/155 "2012-07-28T04:42:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not only do I pay attention, I have a long memory. I recall Bill clinton facing exactly the same problem and handling it very differently. Could you use your long memory to cite me the number of filibusters that Clinton faced each year, vs Obama? > [@](#): > > Obstruction is only a problem if what you want done is something the public doesn’t want. if the public wants the President’s economic plans to go through, he can simply persuade the public that the Republicans are holding up SPECIFIC bills that would help. No, because of FOX and other _Right-Wing Not News Sources_, a full third of this country is so utterly misinformed that they go bat-shit insane at the sound of the kinds of things that fix economies in recovery. If Obama did attempt to make a huge push for some economic policy, the Republicans could block it anyway, and with RWNNS they could push the narrative that whatever the president wanted to push was a bad idea anyway. If you argue that Plan X is vital, and fully a third of the country is told that Plan X infects you with super-aids and gives money to terrorists, when Plan X fails to get through an obstructionist congress, the obstructionists don’t pay the kind of penalty they might have in the past. > [@](#): > > Instead, he just sends bills that he knows won’t pass to Congress and then doesn’t talk about them anymore except to his base. the President has done almost nothing to persuade the general public that his policies are useful, a shortcoming even he admitted just recently. Not that he’s taking steps to change it. He’s not superman. He doesn’t have the political capital to push anything through congress against a Senate that has the filibuster lever nailed in the Yes position. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/156 "2012-07-28T04:55:13Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Could you use your long memory to cite me the number of filibusters that Clinton faced each year, vs Obama? Irrelevant, since Republicans had the majority. They could just vote him down, a much more significant obstacle than the filibuster. Clinton still beat them. > [@](#): > > No, because of FOX and other _Right-Wing Not News Sources_, a full third of this country is so utterly misinformed that they go bat-shit insane at the sound of the kinds of things that fix economies in recovery. That’s an excuse for why the Democrats have given up on trying to communicate with the public. > [@](#): > > If Obama did attempt to make a huge push for some economic policy, the Republicans could block it anyway, and with RWNNS they could push the narrative that whatever the president wanted to push was a bad idea anyway. And why do you think they would win that argument and not the President? Fox News? Really? > [@](#): > > If you argue that Plan X is vital, and fully a third of the country is told that Plan X infects you with super-aids and gives money to terrorists, when Plan X fails to get through an obstructionist congress, the obstructionists don’t pay the kind of penalty they might have in the past. How come Republicans succeed in getting public backing? Even George Bush was able to get what he wanted, when he wanted. The lone major exception was Social Security reform, when Democrats discovered their spine. > [@](#): > > He’s not superman. He doesn’t have the political capital to push anything through congress against a Senate that has the filibuster lever nailed in the Yes position. Successful Presidents have been able to get even hostile Congresses to pass the most important parts of their agenda. And if they failed, you know what they did? They changed their agenda. That’s what Clinton did. He concentrated on areas of common ground, like improving the country’s fiscal situation and making the government work more efficiently. Obama can’t do exactly what he wants, so he just complains that he can’t do anything. When Democrats stopped giving Reagan everything he wanted, he too focused on things he COULD get done, like tax reform. Republicans are very open to tax reform and the President says he supports it, but he’s made no effort to get the ball rolling. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/157 "2012-07-28T05:25:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Does anyone think that, come November, with the economy still in the shitter, anyone\* is going to care what Romney said about the Olympics in July? > > I think for Romney, the debates are going to be key. This might give us a glimpse of Romney’s weakness in the debates, but the issue itself is nothing. > > \*anyone who hasn’t already made up his mind about whom to vote for What he said, itself, isn’t going to be an issue. But I could see this incident contributing to a broad perception that Romney can’t conduct himself properly on the world stage. I mean, he didn’t even get the name of the country right. This was after talking up “Anglo-Saxon heritage”. Not to mention it’s a nuclear power, one of the world’s major economies, the USA’s (arguably) biggest ally, and he was in the country when he said it. I wonder when he’s visiting Prussia. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/158 "2012-07-28T05:32:24Z")
So, **adaher** , why are you nattering on about Obama’s legislative efforts in a thread about Romney in London? Did you mean to post that in a different thread? Anyway, Romney’s not content with insulting his British hosts; he’s also working hard at [alienating the U.S press](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9428295/Mitt-Romney-in-London-as-it-happened.html) covering his campaign: > [@](#): > > Not content with upsetting his British hosts, Mr Romney has now also managed to enrage the travelling American press corps, who pay tens of thousands of dollars to follow him around the globe. After his meeting with Ed Miliband, the Republican presidential challenger apparently took questions only from British reporters. > > The gaffe-prone Mr Romney is so rarely made available to these media “embeds” on the trail that his campaign has been nicknamed the “Mittness Protection Programme”. So his decision to ignore them during one such “avail” went down predictably badly. > [The NBC News First Read blog](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/26/12968214-first-thoughts-london-calling?lite) says: “Those of us that have travelled overseas and been involved in these VERY limited press avails have rarely seen heads of democracies TOTALLY ignore their own press corps but answer ANOTHER press corps’ questions”. This is really, really dumb. McCain wasn’t such a fool; he cultivated the press, schmoozed with them, made them his pals, and got a lot of favorable coverage out of it. Do Mitt and his handlers, already struggling against the arrogant out-of-touch CEO-bot image, really think it’s a good idea to piss off the people who play such a large role in shaping the coverage of his campaign? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/159 "2012-07-28T05:44:33Z")
That’s where the discussion led, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485/160 "2012-07-28T05:57:08Z")
Unlike Mitt Romney, Michelle Obama has been charming and delighting London with her grace and class. [Sample headline](http://www.standard.co.uk/olympics/olympic-news/london-2012-olympics-are-you-watching-mitt-michelle-obama-gives-a-fun-masterclass-in-diplomacy-7982153.html) from the London Evening Standard: “London 2012 Olympics: Are you watching Mitt? Michelle Obama gives a fun masterclass in diplomacy.” My favorite [comment at Wonkette](http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/26/12968214-first-thoughts-london-calling?lite) on the contrast between the two: > [@](#): > > We might as well set Michelle’s travel itinerary to follow Mitt’s by 48 hours, otherwise we might see NATO disband, Israel collapse from within, and Poland try to build their own missile shield out of tinker toys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mr-candidate-goes-to-london/629485.md?page=9)