Romney’s Bloopers

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…