ClydeR
08-01-2012, 10:34 AM
Of all the funny things that happened on Romney's world tour, I thought his dressage statement was both the funniest and the most pathetic.
But the Mitt misfire that most defies explanation was his uncharacteristically caddish comment about his wife’s passion for dressage and Rafalca, the horse that she co-owns, who is competing in the Olympics. Ann Romney embraced dressage as part of her therapy after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, so there is an uplifting subtext to her passion for precision riding.
When the Republican candidate was asked in an NBC News interview whether he intended to watch Rafalca compete in London, Romney replied: “This is Ann’s sport. I’m not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get a chance to see it. I will not be watching the event. I hope her horse does well.”
Even though the former Massachusetts governor is an avid horseman himself, the tenor of his remarks made it seem like he would much rather watch the Olympic finals in parcheesi.
Presumably, there was a political calculation to Romney galloping in the opposite direction at the mere mention of dressage. Just eight years ago John Kerry was pilloried as an out-of-touch elitist for going windsurfing. But it would have been much harder and quite unfair to criticize Romney for being a loyal husband and watching the initial dressage events with his wife. (Even though Rafalca is not competing until Tuesday, Romney might have announced that he would be actively cheering during the online livestream from Poland.) Instead, asked an obvious question, Romney gave an unfeeling answer that drew more attention to Ann’s horse than if the candidate himself had been photographed feeding carrots to Rafalca.
More... (http://news.yahoo.com/first--he-came-for-seamus--why-won-t-mitt-romney-watch-ann-s-horse-in-the-olympics-.html)
Video of that part of the interview is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48326969#48326969
But the Mitt misfire that most defies explanation was his uncharacteristically caddish comment about his wife’s passion for dressage and Rafalca, the horse that she co-owns, who is competing in the Olympics. Ann Romney embraced dressage as part of her therapy after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, so there is an uplifting subtext to her passion for precision riding.
When the Republican candidate was asked in an NBC News interview whether he intended to watch Rafalca compete in London, Romney replied: “This is Ann’s sport. I’m not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get a chance to see it. I will not be watching the event. I hope her horse does well.”
Even though the former Massachusetts governor is an avid horseman himself, the tenor of his remarks made it seem like he would much rather watch the Olympic finals in parcheesi.
Presumably, there was a political calculation to Romney galloping in the opposite direction at the mere mention of dressage. Just eight years ago John Kerry was pilloried as an out-of-touch elitist for going windsurfing. But it would have been much harder and quite unfair to criticize Romney for being a loyal husband and watching the initial dressage events with his wife. (Even though Rafalca is not competing until Tuesday, Romney might have announced that he would be actively cheering during the online livestream from Poland.) Instead, asked an obvious question, Romney gave an unfeeling answer that drew more attention to Ann’s horse than if the candidate himself had been photographed feeding carrots to Rafalca.
More... (http://news.yahoo.com/first--he-came-for-seamus--why-won-t-mitt-romney-watch-ann-s-horse-in-the-olympics-.html)
Video of that part of the interview is at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48326969#48326969