The worldwide press has not been kind to Mitt Romney upon his return from Europe. Romney's overseas show and tell has erupted into something of a debacle for his campaign. I'm not one to thrive on schadenfreude so I don't sit back and laugh at his expense. Nor do I grin about his shortcomings while abroad because at the end of the day, he is still a face of our country. As he travels overseas he represents America, for better or for worse.
His foibles and demeanor simply further represent the fact he hasn't the heart, grace, compassion, or tact to be President. The same faults he carries Stateside were amplified overseas. I happened to be traveling out of the country while Romney was on his European tour. Many folks I met stated their interest in our upcoming election and voiced concern for not who Mitt Romney is, rather what he represents. Hubris seems to be a common theme.
My mother is active in Democrats Abroad in Germany, where she lives much of the year. Candidates often campaign in countries where there are U.S. interests or a large population of expatriate voters. It is a common campaign strategy to appeal to voters abroad while engendering confidence in foreign populates, but this strategy does not usurp activities at home. The American people come first; our jobs, education, health, and well being take priority.
I hope to see less time dedicated to overseas campaigning this year. There is so much discord at home right now that our leaders owe it to us to demonstrate how they will bridge that divide. The strife at home is getting dangerously heated. Who is going to finally step in and shift our paradigm so this election is focused on compromise and working in harmony instead of battling to win? Wow, now *that's* a foreign concept!
This post is part of a weekly conversation with our Moms Matter 2012 political bloggers. To see the original question and what the other writers have to say, see Should Mitt Romney Be Campaigning Abroad?
Image via jnn13/Wikimedia Commons
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Comments 56
Interesting... er... "point". Refresh my memory, can you provide some LINKS to information about OWEbama's "successful" trips to those places?
You are, like, soooo totally right, we should ignore the FACTS, ignore reality, ignore the public record, and keep shrieking "Baaaah! Baaaah! Blame the democrat's voting record and the results of their policies on Bush! Baaaaah! Baaaah!"
I would suggest you take a gander at a middle school civics book and get at least a basic overview level grasp on the way our legislative process works first, and then go back and learn who controlled congress and when, and then look at the dates as to when the economy tanked.
Either that or stick with basing your vote on " (and we all know who celebs are picking in this race, right)"
...ugh. Where's the remote control.
Who's going to get our jobs back? Who's going to see to it we go back to work? Who's got a plan to fix the economy? What is that plan? What about the immigration problem? Anyone have a plan for that? Anyone got a plan for the Keystone pipeline? What about education? Any plans for that?
JAFE and HockeyMom, oh, how I wish we could have some stimulating and intellectual discourses in the comments sections. Unfortunately, most of the commenters are not capable of doing anything but repeating what they see in Obama campaign adds. It is sad that this is what this country's political system is coming to. With the onset of mass media, it seems people, both liberals and conservatives alike, have lost the ability to think for themselves. I fear Americans will soon more closely resemble herds of mindless sheep than citizens of the most powerful nation in the world.
You tell me how this is fair. Anyone.
"President Obama also pledged to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 per year -- a bone of contention with some small business owners, who say it's unfair for their taxes to increase when they're using their higher incomes to create jobs and pay workers."
How does he think this helps mom and pops? One more term with this guy and we'll lose our business. They all your plywood can come from China with dangerous chemicals in it.
Small businesses are struggling so hard to make it and this buffoon says something like this?? I'm just incensed that nobody sees anything wrong with this.
The questions I asked were - What good has Obama done in his first term? And, Has anything Obama has done improved your life over the last 3.5 years, and if so, how? So far, I got nothing...........
I think I know these. First, he sang "IIIIIII.....am sooooo in looove with youuuuu" really, really well and that was wicked cool. And he's on TV all the damn time, like a celebrity, and everyone knows celebrities are wicked cool. And, you know, he's black, so he's an improvement over the white dudes. Word.
Americans will soon more closely resemble herds of mindless sheep than citizens of the most powerful nation in the world
Add "if I'm elected to a second term!!!!" to that, have Obama say it from behind a podium, and he'd STILL get applause. And it would probably be the most truthful thing he's ever said.
LOL rightside!! Most clever thing I've heard in a while.