Governor's Travels

Governor Romney did a very fine job on his campaign's first foreign foray. The press did a horrendous job of reporting and analysis of his trip, and lost no opportunity to try to minimize and ridicule him and his visit. All that, of course, in striking contrast to the fawning treatment accorded candidate Obama during his grandiose foreign trip in 2008.

The Governor's rather innocuous and, by the way, accurate observations on the state of preparations for the London Olympics got manipulated into a grotesque parody of what he actually said. The Governor, responding to a question, noted that there were "disconcerting" stories, including one about a private security firm, GS4, that had employed insufficient staff, and another about a threatened strike by British border security personnel. Those stories, of course, came from the British press which had been running with "the-Britain's-Olympics-are-a-shambles" theme for several months.  That same press, with its American echo chamber, went bonkers when the Governor referred to their own reporting. I assume by the hysterical reaction from the British press to the Governor's citing the British press, the British press knows that nobody should rely on the British press for information.

The Governor's forthright and accurate assessment of the state of the 2012 Olympics shows that he is not a typical politician. The usual response would have been some vague or even effusive praise for the efforts of the host country. Instead, the Governor, who has considerable expertise on the Olympics, flagged some concerns. Those concerns have borne out as we see lapses in security, e.g., a gate crasher managed to join the Indian team on its march-through, and rows and rows of empty stadium seats at the same time that no ticket is available.  Quite surprising, normally reprehensible CNN pet Brit Piers Morgan concluded that Romney was exactly on point re the Olympics. The issue of whether you actually want Piers Morgan on your side is something for another day; I merely note it.

But, I digress. The visit to the UK was not the main feature of the trip. The Governor's visits to Israel and Poland formed the core of the trip, so, of course, drew less press attention and what attention it did draw minimized or misinterpreted the real meaning of the visits. Contrary to most press reporting, the Romney trip was not primarily about Jewish or Polish votes back in the US. The trip was about highlighting what should be the US relationship with two critical allies located in two very tough neighborhoods. Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, is virtually surrounded by anti-American retrograde forces out to destroy it. Poland finds itself confronting a resurgent and increasingly anti-American, aggressive and even Stalinist Russia that greatly resents Poland's remarkable economic success and its close relationship with the West, especially the United States. Both of these nations live on the frontiers of freedom; both  have been shabbily mistreated by the Obama misadministration. Neither Obama nor Hillary Clinton has shown any regard for the importance of these two allies to the United States or for the difficult and even precarious conditions which they confront. In fact, actions by the Obama misadministration, e.g., precipitously canceling the anti-missile defense system in Poland's case, and demanding Israel's return to the disastrous borders of pre-1967, have strained their alliances with the United States and put their national security at risk.

By visiting these two nations, Romney has signified how his foreign policy will be different than Obama's. The Governor realizes something that our Lilliputian President does not: we should stand with our allies.