Mitt RomneyMitt Romney and his aide-de-camp Rick Gorka are attempting to remove their foot from their respective mouths as the reports of gaffes continue to get worse by the hour. The latest is Rick Gorka, traveling press secretary, shouting at reporters as Romney finished a visit to the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Romney was going to his car when reporters began asking questions from behind a rope line, according to Politico reports. Reporters felt they were not given enough time to ask questions.
“Kiss my ass, this is a holy site for the Polish people,” Gorka said to the press crops. “Show some respect.” Yes, he used the phrases "show some respect" and "kiss my ass" in the same outburst, which appears to be logically contradictory.
He also told a CNN reporter to “shove it.” Aren’t press secretaries supposed to be the go to person to defuse embarrassing situations for their candidate?
Romney went to Poland on his European Tour to further some “tough talk” on Russia because it was speculated it would play well there. At the Polish capital he rebuked Russia reminding Poland of their struggle against the Iron Curtain.
“In the 1980s, when other nations doubted that political tyranny could ever be faced down or overcome, the answer was, ‘Look to Poland’,” Romney said in a speech in the library of Warsaw University. “And today, as some wonder about the way forward out of economic recession and fiscal crisis, the answer is to ‘Look to Poland’ once again.”
Romney has said that Russia is “without question our No. 1 geopolitical foe.”
Gorka, however, sullied the visit with the outburst at reporters which might not bother the Polish people, but it certainly will make the rounds of every political talk show in the nation for the next week for impressions and discussions. But then some don’t believe political gaffs mean very much.
The Daily Kos observed, “Mitt Romney abroad is an embarrassment to the Human Race. Guess what? Voters don't care. They didn't care when Bush asked in Brazil "Do you have black people here, too?". They didn't care when Bush did all sorts of things that were embarrassing. They voted for him anyway, and those same people are going to vote for Romney. Hopefully not enough votes to get him elected, but he's going to get them.”
Still, one would expect a presidential candidate to be sensitive to countries with whom foreign relations and international policy formation success determines the future effectiveness of a standing president, whether it’s in Britain, Israel or anywhere else for that matter.
One thing Republicans can celebrate is that Rick SantorumRick Santorum didn’t win the nomination. Earlier this year he said,”All other countries are run by little girls!”
He managed to insult females, and young girls. In case he never saw the TV Show “Are you smarter than a fifth grader,” he should think again about challenging “little girls.”
Nevertheless, Mitt Romney will have a lot “splainin” to do once he is back facing American audiences, not to mention the press.
Resources
http://hnn.us/articles/politicalgaffes.h tml
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/27 /1114171/-Why-Mitt-s-Gaffes-Won-t-Matter -in-November
