Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street†in London, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP /Charles Dharapak)
After several controversies, setbacks and delays, Mitt Romney questioned whether London would be ready for the Olympics this week. Apparently, he wasn’t supposed to offer an honest assessment of the situation. The media is having a conniption.
Sky News reported:
Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has raised questions about Britain’s readiness for the Olympics and the public’s enthusiasm for the Games.
Mr Romney, who is in London to meet political leaders and supporters, described problems with security levels and a strike which was called off at the last minute as “disconcerting”.
The candidate, who was chief executive of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, is due to attend the opening ceremony on Friday before he continues his foreign tour.
Speaking to NBC News, he said: “It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting: the stories about the private security firm not having enough people, supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging.”
Moving on to whether Britain is backing the Games, he added: “Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? That’s something which we only find out once the Games actually begin.”
His comments come after a difficult month which has seen extra troops drafted in to bolster security after a private firm failed to deliver and threats of strike action by Home Office staff.
They emerged as organisers Locog were scrabbling to make up for a gaffe in one of the opening football matches, when the South Korean flag was mistakenly shown for the North Korean team and they walked off the pitch.
On Thursday, at a meeting with Labour leader Ed Miliband, Mr Romney did suggest that any errors will be overlooked once the competition is actually under way.
He said: “It is impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur. Of course there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes.
“The Games are, after all, about the athletes, the volunteers and the people of the community who come together to celebrate those athletes. As soon as the Games begin, we all forget the organisers and focus on the athletes.”
Mr Romney later met with Prime Minister David Cameron, his deputy Nick Clegg, and Chancellor George Osborne in Downing Street.
Now, lets watch and see how many times the media repeats this story in the next two weeks during the Games.
