Mitt Romney's foreign trip ends. Good thing for him these are the dog days.
| Washington
First, the bad news for Mitt Romney: What should have been an easy, photo-op-driven trip abroad by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was marred by gaffes and other miscues 鈥� culminating in a press aide鈥檚 off-color admonition to pushy reporters.
The good news is that these are the dog days of summer, and most voters aren鈥檛 paying attention 鈥� especially the swing voters who will decide the election. It鈥檚 also good for Mr. Romney that foreign policy barely registers as a voter concern. President Obama already wins that issue in polls. 聽聽聽
Still, in traveling to London, Israel, and Poland over the past week, Romney was hoping to build up a thin aspect of his r茅sum茅, foreign-policy experience. He did deliver some well-received speeches, interact with foreign leaders, raise campaign cash from Americans abroad, and get the requisite footage of himself on the world stage.
And as painful as some of the moments may have been for Romney, with a news-hungry press corps ready to pounce on every ill-chosen word, the trip could end up being a valuable learning experience, analysts say.
鈥淢ost candidates who have not been on the world stage before often realize that it鈥檚 just a bigger stage than they thought,鈥� says John Geer, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. "You find out that there鈥檚 a lot more land mines out there in the international arena.鈥�
What Romney went through was not all that atypical for a novice, Mr. Geer says, noting, for example, the extraordinary complexity of Israeli-Palestinian relations. 鈥淭he question is, is there any kind of learning curve from it?鈥� he says.
To recap: Romney鈥檚 first eyebrow-raiser came in London, when he expressed reservations to Brian Williams of NBC about London鈥檚 readiness to host the summer Olympics, calling some issues 鈥渄isconcerting.鈥� That opened a torrent of criticism from the British press, and chiding from Prime Minister David Cameron and London鈥檚 mayor, Boris Johnson.
In Israel, Romney insulted Palestinians when he spoke of 鈥渃ultural differences鈥� leading to their sluggish economy. He also had to correct the impression that he would approve a unilateral military strike by Israel to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability. It is considered bad form for an opposition politician to contradict US policy while traveling abroad.
In Poland, Romney鈥檚 traveling press secretary, Rick Gorka, cursed at reporters for shouting questions at Romney during a visit to Poland鈥檚 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Frustrations had come to a boil over the candidate鈥檚 limited availability to the press: He took only three questions the entire trip.
But as unprofessional as Mr. Gorka鈥檚 reaction may have been 鈥� he later apologized to some of the reporters 鈥� taking on the political press rarely carries a downside with American voters.
As Romney flew back to the US Tuesday, Team Obama held a conference call to reinforce the negatives of the trip, calling it 鈥渁n embarrassing disaster.鈥�
But Romney defenders call it a largely positive venture. He got good coverage back in the US for his Israel trip 鈥� especially given his personal friendship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 鈥� and may have built some goodwill among Jewish voters, especially important in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, key swing states. The visit with former Polish President Lech Walesa, an icon of the Solidarity pro-democracy movement in the 1980s, seemed aimed at Polish-American voters in the crucial Midwest battleground. 聽
Some Republicans have questioned the wisdom of taking the trip in the first place. After all, this election is about the economy, not foreign policy. With the summer Olympics under way, it鈥檚 possible Romney thought he could fly under the radar, at least somewhat. But having decided to go, Team Romney needed to make sure the candidate was prepared, say GOP strategists.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 hope for the best, you have to prepare for the worst,鈥� says Ford O鈥機onnell, head of the conservative Civic Forum PAC. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if they recognized the level of scrutiny they鈥檇 be under. We鈥檙e in a global economy, we鈥檙e in a global press.鈥�
Some press coverage has suggested that Romney went abroad understaffed. In contrast with then-candidate Barack Obama鈥檚 largely successful foreign campaign trip in the summer of 2008, Romney brought along only a handful of senior staff. Then-Senator Obama brought along at least 14 top staffers and advisers, including former National Security Adviser Tony Lake and longtime diplomat Dennis Ross, according to the Washington Post.
Only three senior staffers accompanied Romney for his entire trip, two with foreign policy portfolios. A handful of other foreign policy advisers joined Romney for parts of the tour, the Post reports.
