海角大神

Mitt Romney鈥檚 seven-day overseas tour, designed to showcase the presidential hopeful鈥檚 statesmanlike qualities, is getting off to a rocky start.

First, the London daily Telegraph quoted an unnamed Romney aide as saying that the Obama presidency does not fully appreciate the 鈥淎nglo-Saxon鈥� heritage that Great Britain and the United States share. Coming after weeks of Governor Romney describing President Obama鈥檚 ideology as 鈥渇oreign鈥� to most Americans, the remark caused a transatlantic tempest.聽

Then Romney ruffled more than a few Anglo-Saxon feathers by casting doubt on preparations for the London Olympic Games, which kick off Friday.

In an interview broadcast Wednesday on NBC News, the former Olympics chief (he led the 2002 Salt Lake City games) referred to what he called 鈥渄isconcerting鈥� pre-game security issues, and said that 鈥渋t鈥檚 hard to know just how well it [the London Games] will turn out.鈥�

Romney later addressed both squalls: He said he believes Obama 鈥渦nderstands鈥� the 鈥渟pecial relationship鈥� between Britain and the US. As for the Olympics, he said mistakes were bound to be made in the run-up to any games, but that it was the athletes, the volunteers, and the hosting public that would determine the Games鈥� success.

The bumps at the outset of Romney鈥檚 trip are certainly not what he wanted. But it鈥檚 also true that, especially in a campaign that is so heavily focused on domestic economic issues, such 鈥渢eapot tempests鈥� are unlikely to have a significant impact, political analysts say.

鈥淭he whole point of a trip like this is to show that someone like Romney who doesn鈥檛 have a lot of international experience can handle the world stage, so anything that gets in the way of that or suggests things aren鈥檛 going smoothly isn鈥檛 good for the candidate,鈥� says Thomas Henriksen, a senior fellow in American foreign policy at the Hoover Institution in Stanford, Calif. 鈥淭hat said, these things are tiny blips that are unlikely to be remembered in November.鈥�

While that may be true, Mr. Henriksen says such pre-election overseas trips have nevertheless become 鈥渄e rigueur鈥� for presidential candidates to prove their leadership mettle. Then-Senator Obama鈥檚 2008 overseas trip, which included a rock star鈥檚 reception at a speech in Berlin, 鈥渞esonated鈥� with the public and allowed some voters to 鈥渃heck the box and say, 鈥極K, he can do it,鈥� 鈥� Henriksen says.

The danger for candidates is not so much that the 鈥渢iny blips鈥� themselves will matter at the ballot box, but that they will reinforce the negatives that are weighing a candidate down at home.

Thus the pesky nature of the 鈥淎nglo-Saxon鈥� kerfuffle. The Telegraph said the quote was from an anonymous Romney aide, and Romney, disassociating himself from the term, noted that a lot of people call themselves 鈥渁ides鈥� who in reality have no formal campaign role.

But still the term stuck. One reason is that its association with the Romney campaign played into the debate between the Romney and Obama camps over which side is more 鈥渙ut of touch鈥� with mainstream America.

As Henriksen notes, 鈥淎nglo-Saxon鈥� is by now an 鈥渙ld-fashioned sounding鈥� term that defines an ever-smaller slice of the American pie. 鈥淧eople used to say WASP [White Anglo-Saxon Protestant] all the time, but America is just so different from what it was just a relatively few years ago,鈥� he says.

Vice President Joe Biden knew an opportunity to drive home the 鈥渙ut of touch鈥� point when he saw it, quickly blasting the anonymous comment as 鈥渂eneath a presidential campaign.鈥�

The Romney campaign, hoping to nip the controversy in the bud, said the proof that the dreaded quote would not have come from anyone of any stature in its stable of advisers was the very ethnic and cultural variety of the advisory corps.

That said, the word was out that the whole 鈥淎nglo-Saxon鈥� tempest had the Romney camp taking extra care to ensure that another potential danger in the 鈥渙ut of touch鈥� minefield 鈥� Ann Romney鈥檚 dressage horse, set to prance in the London Olympics 鈥� does not mar the candidate鈥檚 trip.

Mrs. Romney has spoken compellingly about her horses and how they have helped her contend with her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. But dressage horses are very expensive, and risk conjuring up allusions to the Romneys鈥� considerable wealth and rarefied living. The campaign has yet to live down comedian Stephen Colbert鈥檚 recent description of dressage as 鈥淣ascar with a velvet top hat.鈥�

As Romney whisked around London and prepared for Friday鈥檚 Olympics opening ceremonies, the 鈥淎nglo-Saxon鈥� brouhaha was a reminder that the campaign may downshift but does not stop just because the candidate is overseas.