Here’s a question. If your spouse had a horse competing in the Olympics, would you support her by attending the event? I know I would. What kind of jerk would not? But, here’s Romney:
Romney immediately seemed to distance himself from that part of the Games, stating that it was “a big, exciting experience” for his wife, Ann, and for her trainer, Jan Ebeling, who is riding Rafalca in the competition. “Obviously it’s fun to be part of the Olympics in any way you can be a part of them,” he said.
When Williams pressed Romney for some details about the participation of Rafalca and Ebeling, who earned a place on the U.S. Olympic equestrian team in June—how many rounds and how many chances to win—Romney said he was not familiar with the details.
“I have to tell you. This is Ann’s sport,” he told Williams in an interview that aired on “Nightly News” on Wednesday. “I’m not even sure which day the sport goes on.” He said he would not be watching the event, but hoped her horse would do well.
I mean, he’s not going to lose his bid for the presidency because his wife has a horse in the Olympics. But he might lose it because he’s the kind of guy who lies constantly and treats his wife like furniture.
Of course Mitt is going to avoid talking about it. 99% of Americans never even heard of “dressage” before it got mentioned in the Romney context. The word is even pronounced in the French manor thus lending it to perceptions of hoity-toity-ness.
There is just no way for Mitt to take on the topic and make it a positive.
“manor” lol. s/b manner
Agreed, but all he had to say is to say that of course he is supporting something so important to his wife. and any critic would be deemed as criticing Ann and her MS or whatever.
He’s been hiding behind Ann to avoid criticism all this time, why not use her again now.
Perhaps, but can he manage that without screwing it up? The “trees are the right height” guy? If I were one of his handlers I would be coaching him to “smile and wave, just smile and wave”.
Ultimately I think this is one of those little shiny things we get distracted by while we let bigger stories slide by though.
I wish the media would use the occasion of Mitt at the Olympics to examine how the 2002 Olympics under his leadership cost more in subsidies from the federal government than all other US Olympics since 1904 combined (inflation adjusted). And how a lot of that was given away to wealthy associates and squandered as political favors.
That’s a story that directly addresses the “I never got help from others” meme, Mitt’s corruption and his fanciful versions of his past “successes”.
Sure he can address the topic and make it a positive. Watch:
“This is Ann’s sport—has been since her doctor recommended she take up riding horses as therapy for her MS. So she’s the expert in the family, not me. But I’ll be right next to her, cheering for her horse and hoping she brings home a medal for Team USA.”
Not so hard.
People don’t object to rich politicians. They object to rich politicians who look down on them. They also object to rich politicians who act uncomfortable about their wealth.
That’s still problematical. Ann isn’t riding a horse in an Olympic event. She’s like one of those NASCAR owners that Mitt pals around with.
But she’s his wife. Which makes her different from his NASCAR owner buddies.
Sure she’s an owner and fabulously wealthy. But she’s his wife, it’s her hobby, and it’s a hobby that helps her deal with a brutal, crippling disease.
Most people aren’t going to begrudge her that. And if he supports her, they aren’t going to begrudge him either.
If, on the other hand, he gets a reputation as someone who’ll hang his wife out to dry for political reasons, that could cause him some damage politically.
You recognize that in this instance, you’re trashing him for not lying, don’t you?
Actually, all I was doing was playing spin doctor. Yes, dressage is an elitist sport but there are ways Mitt could talk about it that make him come off well to most folks.
Plus, I don’t think what I outlined is false. I think he loves his wife. I think (at least at this point) she knows/cares more about dressage than he does. I think he’d be happy if the horse and rider won a medal—and he’d be happy for both personal and patriotic reasons.
It’s also baffling to me that Romney and his campaign can’t figure out how to handle a simple situation like this any better than they have.
He might have just well said “I can’t watch that horse, I’m running for President for pete’s sake”
Surprising no one who paid attention, the dude is horrible at interacting with people he considers “inferior” classes.
Geez. People already know the $77,000 horse is in the Olympics, at least go see what such a large investment does.
In further news…Romney distanced himself from…himself.
I woke up this morning at 6, haven’t stopped laughing yet. Who let this guy out by himself?
Speaking of spouses, while Ann and Mitt are droning on on Today Show about how they just love “Downtown Abbey” (way to pander huh), to quote Montel Jordan: This Is How We Do It
“Michelle Obama on Olympics: British “know what they’re doing””
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57481220/michelle-obama-on-olympics-british-know-what-theyre-
doing/
UMMMMMM….did they REALLY say DOWNTOWN Abbey? You do realize that it’s Downton Abbey don’t you?
typo. I’m on my Ipad.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/27/ann-romney-mitt-and-i-love-class-system-drama-downton-abby/
Investment or not, obscure elitist sport or not, this is her passion, and she’s competing for the pinnacle of achievement in her sport for the very first and perhaps only time. Almost by definition the day of the competition is one of the biggest days of her life. And he says he doesn’t even know what day it is, and can’t even be bothered to watch, let alone attend and be with her???!!
Jesus fucking Christ. If I even said (let alone did) something like that, my wife would divorce me. And me, her, if she ever treated me like that. (Which neither she nor I would never do – and that’s why we’re married.) And we move in complete separate circles and have wholly different interests, too, so it’s not like we don’t operate independently of each other a lot.
And here people were wondering if R Money could possibly make his trip worse when he got to Poland or Israel. He managed to do it even before he got out of London. What. A. Douche.
If Rove had been managing the Romneys for years as he did the Bushes, Ann wouldn’t own a dressage horse much less have one in competition at the Olympics.
Jacqueline Kennedy may have spent more time riding a horse during her DC years than Ann does (allegedly as therapy for MS) and it wasn’t an issue. Any half-assed political consultant could have turned it into a winner for Ann Romney. It doesn’t even have to be all that authentic to work splendidly as Rove demonstrated with GWB’s mini-“ranch.”
Seriously. My wife likes knitting and TV shows about bridal gowns.
If she was in some kind of – what? – bridal-gown-knitting competition, I’d at least pay attention.
And well you should — just imagine if she came up with something like this! You’d darn well better pay attention, buster. ;p
he’s a pathetic excuse for a human being.
How common is it for a person to spend $77,000(?) a year on a hobby and remain uninterested in it?
I guy who is probably worth $200 million?
For someone worth $100,000 the same percentage would be worth $38.50.
To be fair, this is a lose-lose situation for Romney. If he doesn’t pay attention, he’s ignoring his wife’s interests; if he does pay attention, he’s an elitist.
Lovin’ every minute.
Well said. There is really no way to spin it into a win for him anyway.
Right. So politically, it’s a lose-lose for him either way. So why not do the right thing and support his wife? I thought he sounded like a gigantic asshole when I heard what he said.
I agree with Boo that this is the kind of thing that could hurt Romney with low information voters. Either he’s the asshole they are married to, who does this kind of thing all the time, or they are really grateful that they aren’t married to this jerk who is treating his wife like total crap on something that seems to matter to her a lot.
It’s sort of unbelievable that he wouldn’t even bother to watch. Good grief. He sounds as if he thinks his wife is a child and this is one of her silly toys…
Next up; Mitt talks about his wife’s little toys.
This is what patriarchal relationships are like. Wealthy men indulge the whims of their wives. Mitt is just less practiced than most wealthy men in how this aspect of his life is presented for public consumption.
This story isn’t going to hurt Mitt with the low-information voters, for the simple reason that this story is the sort of information that they never receive.
It’s not necessarily a lose-lose for him. However, the way he’s handling it is making it a lose-lose.
If he’d just stand by his wife and root for the USA, then it’s at least a slight win for him, no? Or at the very least, a non-issue non-loss?
As far as I can tell, any chance Romney has in this election is because he’s the kind of guy who lies constantly.
This.
.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Obviously not Mitt’s horse. His would be tied to the top of the car, defecating all over itself and on death’s doorstep. But enjoying itself none the less.
No self-respectin’ American horse would be caught dead in the furrin-made vehicle. Clearly a low information animal.
I am starting to wonder if Mitt is the human embodiment of the Chewbacca defense. Maybe they’re hoping that he’s going to win the debates against Obama because he’ll be so awkward and nonsensical that Obama won’t be able to do anything but stare at him in disbelief?
Romney is just out of sync. He was reading his instruction manual a day late back before he created his own mess and the dressage horse was the only thing his people could imagine would hinder his gloriousness.
If Mitt had an ounce of knowing how and when to go off script he would have grabbed the moment to escape to the stables yesterday.
Intereesting to be a fly on the wall of the fund raiser in London to see if his likeability took a hit with the money.
As long as the dollars meet or exceed Willard’s expectation, he’ll claim that his London trip was a success. If those wallets opened up for Willard that will be confirmation that London bankers are as stupid as those in MN that vote for Bachmann.
A chronic loser – No Apology, no gratitude, no shame. I’m curious whether he has ever apologized to anyone, especially Ann.
He apologized yesterday for one of his insults. He really will say anything that he views as furthering his ambitions.
London 2012 Olympics: Are you watching Mitt? Michelle Obama gives a fun masterclass in diplomacy
Running away from his past — Bain, SLC Olympics, Gov MA — has become a habit for him. So, throwing the dressage horse under the bus wasn’t anything new.
His etch-a-sketch (or Ouija board) campaign theme for today is praise GWB’s foreign policy. At this rate, he’ll be likening himself to Attila the Hun at the GOP convention.
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May I suggest he continues his travels to Jordan, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. May Willard discuss America’s freedom to proselytize the Christian faith in all countries buying US weapons.
Pakistan’s Christian Minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti assassinated in Islamabad
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."That’s so sad and disturbing on many levels.
While Willard’s “Christian” sect has more in common with that of some Islam fundamentalists, not sure many in those parts of the world could get beyond the particular weirdness of his faith.
Well, Bain is no longer a positive for him, his Governorship is no longer a positive, running the Olympics is no longer a positive, his ability to strengthen the Anglo-American alliance is no longer a positive. About all he had left to fall back on was being a devoted husband and family man. Guess that is out the window as well.
Noted the same thing — Today he rebooted his campaign and will run on Bush’s foreign policy.
OK, at this point the only theory that makes sense is that he’s decided that being elected President would mean he’d have to spend four years answering questions asked by a bunch of peasants, and is trying to figure out how to deliberately lose the election.
From what I’ve seen, his wife IS like furniture. Of course so is he, so he should probably be more supportive.
You know he is mormon and his wife is essentially a chattel. So yes, she is furniture. And yes, that is deplorable. But so is just about everything the GOP stands for right now. So the Dems need to stop being right centrists and go for some actual left leaning policies here so maybe the electorate could benefit from another 4 years.