Romney’s Bloopers

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 8 August 2012
by Daniel Haufler (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Ron Argentati. Edited by Casey J. Skeens.
Mitt Romney has had to contend with misspeaking on various occasions. And his spokespersons find it sometimes difficult to find the right words as well.

Admittedly it was late — the end of a long day in Iowa dominated by campaign events and fundraisers for Mitt Romney. Anyone might make a slip of the tongue. And doesn't “sheik” (pronounced the same as “shake”) sound a lot like “Sikh” (pronounced like “seek”) as Romney's spokesperson Rick Gorka seems to think? There you are, then: There's really no reason to heap hateful abuse on Romney for the faux pas.

That is, provided Romney didn't really know who the Sikhs were when he addressed their community in Oak Creek in the wake of the shootings there. And provided that he didn't say “sheik” because he, too, mistakenly thinks Sikhs are Muslims. Or perhaps it's just that he knows as much about the Sikhs as Herman Cain did about Uzbekistan during the Republican primary campaign — that is to say: Not much.

In any case, whether you don't believe any of the above and think Gorka is off the mark, it's nevertheless irritating that Romney has offered up such a bountiful potpourri of bloopers throughout his campaign. When he tries to display his solidarity with American craftsmanship, he mentions the multiple expensive Cadillacs his wife drives. When he wants to come off looking knowledgeable about global affairs during his foreign tour, he first criticizes Great Britain's competence in organizing the Olympic Games, then blames the Palestinian culture as the culprit responsible for their ailing economy. The innumerable barricades and checkpoints apparently aren't included on any of his maps.

Besides, his spokesman, Rick Gorka, flattered a group of journalists by telling them to kiss his ass when they asked Romney in Poland how he was contending with all the bloopers he had made. You can't blame many conservatives for having their doubts about Romney and publicly hoping that he at least picks a popular running mate.

At any rate, the fundraiser for Romney took in almost $2 million. A new single event record...


Romneys Versprecher
Von Daniel Haufler
08.08.2012


Mitt Romney hat im Wahlkampf mit unterschiedlichsten Aussetzern zu kämpfen. Auch seinem Sprecher fällte es manchmal schwer, die richtigen Worte zu finden.


Sicher, es war spät, am Ende eines langen Tages in Iowa voller Wahlkampfterminen und Spendensammeln für Mitt Romney. Da kann einem schon mal ein kleiner Fehler unterlaufen. Und klingen Sheik (spricht sich wie Milchshake, nur ohne Milch) und Sikh (spricht sich, wie es sich schreibt) nicht ziemlich gleich – wie Romneys Sprecher Rick Gorka meint? Eben, es besteht also doch eigentlich kein Grund gehässig über Mitt Romney herzuziehen.


Es sei denn, man nimmt an, dass Romney nicht so genau wusste, was Sikh eigentlich sind, als er anlässlich des Anschlags in Oak Creek den Angehörigen der Opfer sein Mitgefühl ausgesprochen hat. Und dass er Sheik, also Scheich, sagte, weil auch er Sikh fälschlicherweise für Muslime hält. Oder dass er von den Sikh so viel weiß wie Herman Cain, sein Konkurrent in den Vorwahlen, über Usbekistan. Also nichts.


Na ja, selbst wenn man all das nicht glaubt, sondern Gorka recht hat – es ist schon irritierend wie viele Aussetzer unterschiedlichster Art Romney in seinem Wahlkampf hat. Will er seine Verbundenheit mit amerikanischer Wertarbeit ausdrücken, prahlt er mit den vielen teueren US-Autos, die er und seine Frau besitzen. Will er auf einer Auslandsreise weltgewandt wirken, kritisiert er erst einmal die Organisatoren der Olympischen Spiele in London oder macht die Zivilisation der Palästinenser für die deren maue Wirtschaft verantwortlich. Die Mauer und die Checkpoints sind auf seiner Landkarte nicht vorhanden.


Sein Sprecher, der ihn nun verteidigt, hat zudem Journalisten mit dem hübschen Fluch „Kiss my Ass“ bedacht, als sie in Polen wissen wollten, wie Romney mit seinen Pannen auf der Reise umzugehen gedenkt. Man kann es manchen Konservativen nicht verdenken, wenn sie an Kandidat und Kampagne so ihre Zweifel haben und laut vernehmbar hoffen, dass er wenigstens einen attraktiven Vize-Kandidaten wählt.


Nun, wie dem auch sei: Bei dem Spendendinner kamen fast zwei Millionen für Romney. So viel wie bei keinem zuvor...
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