海角大神

Mitt Romney wanted to use his trip to Israel to differentiate himself from President Obama, but instead he ended up sounding like Mr. Obama 鈥� the 2008 presidential candidate, that is.

Governor Romney caused a stir when he said in a speech Sunday that 鈥渋t is a deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.鈥� That actually sounded milder than what then-Sen. Barack Obama said in June 2008, when he insisted that Jerusalem must 鈥渞emain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.鈥�

Romney鈥檚 statement on Jerusalem was not well received by the Palestinians, but the candidate didn鈥檛 stop there, adding a comment Monday about culture and prosperity that elicited even more condemnation.

Aside from angering the Palestinians, the problem with referring to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is that, officially, the United States 鈥� in line with most of the international community 鈥� does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel鈥檚 capital. Instead, it considers the city鈥檚 status an issue to be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem 鈥� seized by Israel in the 1967 war 鈥� as their capital.

As a result, the US keeps its embassy in Tel Aviv.

In both cases 鈥� Obama in 2008 and Romney this week 鈥� the candidates backtracked from their statements. In Romney鈥檚 case, he told CNN after his speech that 鈥淚t鈥檚 long been the policy of our country to ultimately have our embassy in the nation鈥檚 capital, Jerusalem,鈥� adding that 鈥淚 would follow the same policy we have in the past.鈥�

After his comment in 2008, Obama 鈥� also in an interview with CNN 鈥� said that 鈥渙bviously鈥� it would be 鈥渦p to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues鈥� and that 鈥淛erusalem will be part of those negotiations.鈥� He added, however, that a division of the city 鈥渨ould be very difficult to execute,鈥� and he said he still envisioned 鈥渁 system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city.鈥�

Romney鈥檚 echoing of Obama circa 2008 made it seem as though overstepping US policy on Jerusalem has become established practice for a presidential candidate.

But before leaving Israel Monday for Poland and the last stop of his three-country trip, Romney made another comment that not only had Palestinians up in arms, but which added one more flat note to the image of the Republican presidential hopeful鈥檚 gaffe-prone international foray.

At a breakfast fund-raising event in Jerusalem Monday, Romney said he couldn鈥檛 help but notice the 鈥渄ramatically stark difference in economic vitality鈥� between Israel and 鈥渢he areas managed by the Palestinian Authority,鈥� and he concluded, 鈥淐ulture makes all the difference.鈥�

No mention from the would-be US president of the trade and mobility restrictions that Israel maintains over the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza 鈥� restrictions that both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have said for years are key factors in hampering Palestinian economic growth.

Palestinian leaders quickly blasted Romney鈥檚 鈥渃ulture鈥� comment as 鈥渞acist鈥� and added that he failed to take into account the impact of Israel鈥檚 tight grip on the Palestinian economy.

Yet while Romney did not seem interested in answering Palestinian critics, he did seem focused on reaching not just US Jewish voters but also 海角大神 conservatives whose support for the Mormon former Massachusetts governor has been lukewarm.

In his speech, Romney sounded almost Biblical when he said that he recognized the 鈥減ower鈥� of 鈥渁 few other things鈥� besides just culture in Israel鈥檚 accomplishments, adding that he also saw the 鈥渉and of providence in selecting this place.鈥�