UK: "Worse than Palin"

The Guardian

Mitt Romney gets cold reception from UK media after Olympic gaffe

'Romneyshambles', 'party-pooper', 'worse than Palin' – British papers are unimpressed by Republican's charm offensive

Mitt Romney in Downing Street during the awkward first day of his trip to the UK. Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

 

In terms of winning British hearts and minds, Mitt Romney's attempt to burnish his credentials on the international stage as a potential future world leader has fallen at the first hurdle. His achilles heel was lack of diplomatic tact – a pretty crucial skill for anyone with leadership ambitions.

The reaction from the UK media to the Republican presidential hopeful's charm offensive was decidedly lukewarm on Friday morning. "'Nowhere man' Romney loses his way with gaffe about the Games," wrote the Times, while the Daily Mail quipped over a double-page spread: "Who invited party-pooper Romney?" The Independent seized on the play doing the rounds on "omnishambles" – the quip first coined on the satire The Thick Of It but cleverly appropriated by the Labour leader Ed Miliband: "Romneyshambles: Mitt begins his trip with a swipe at London." And to really put the boot in, a quote from one British diplomat in the Times described the former governor of Massachusetts's performance as "worse than Palin" – a reference to the gaffe-prone Republican former vice-presidential candidate.

Read it at The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2012/jul/27/mitt-romney-uk-media-olympic