Romney's Palestine gaffe today

[GlennB]

"The Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace,"

(probably already posted, but it's hard to tell amongst so many Romney gaffes )

eta: the clip was released today, I see.

 

[sir drinks-a-lot]

Wow, those are some pretty radical views. Palestinians? Not interested in peace? And, even stranger, he said they have something against ISRAEL!?!

Amazing. I really hope Obama wins, so he can keep fixing the economy that Bush screwed up.

 

[mikedenk]

Another hard truth from Romney.

More feigned shock and disbelief from the media.

OUTRAGE! from the left.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[Halfcentaur]

Wow, those are some pretty radical views. Palestinians? Not interested in peace? And, even stranger, he said they have something against ISRAEL!?!

Amazing. I really hope Obama wins, so he can keep fixing the economy that Bush screwed up.

He's not fixing it fast enough though! I want drive through service, I don't want to wait on some darn plant to grow.

The economic policies that created this recession would have uh, bottomed out eventually, and we're seeing the upswing being hindered by the Bamster.

If only Bush was left in office for life, we'd be back in a bull market now.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

He's not fixing it fast enough though! I want drive through service, I don't want to wait on some darn plant to grow.

The economic policies that created this recession would have uh, bottomed out eventually, and we're seeing the upswing being hindered by the Bamster.

If only Bush was left in office for life, we'd be back in a bull market now.

I don't see any smilies.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I don't see any smilies.

Ah. I just realized that you undoubtedly meant Bush I. Never mind.

 

[Giz]

"The Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace,"

(probably already posted, but it's hard to tell amongst so many Romney gaffes )

eta: the clip was released today, I see.

Accurate statements now count as gaffes?

Romney has put his foot in his mouth a few times.. but I don't think this is one of them.

 

[Monketi Ghost]

Accurate statements now count as gaffes?

Romney has put his foot in his mouth a few times.. but I don't think this is one of them.

He smooths over nuances as if they don't exist. Of course (the average *hint:nuance*) Palestinians don't want constant warfare. They just don't want the only terms of peace to be dictated by their enemies. (*hint: nuance*)

 

[remirol]

Astonishing. It's like the whole Palestine/Israel situation is composed not of black vs. white and us vs. them, but well over *cough*50*cough* shades of grey.

Who knew!

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Accurate statements now count as gaffes?

You think Palestinians are genetically predisposed to dislike peace? Or wouldn't you say that such sweeping statements are at the very least painting with too broad a brush?

I know 100% for certain that many Palestinians want peace and are even committed to peaceful means of establishing their own state.

I certainly don't claim there aren't also violent Palestinians, even criminal Palestinians. There are also those--perhaps the majority-- who want to establish peace but feel their violent acts are justified.

So Romney's statement given in the OP is certainly not accurate.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Astonishing. It's like the whole Palestine/Israel situation is composed not of black vs. white and us vs. them, but well over *cough*50*cough* shades of grey.

Who knew!

Amen!

 

[R.Mackey]

What makes this a gaffe is that, from it, we can divine something about his fledgling foreign policy. He's not the least interested in peace in the Levant, because he's already made up his mind.

The "fact" that many say is "obvious," i.e., Romney's belief, certainly hasn't been reached by extensive study of the region. He knows next to nothing of foreign policy. But, having tendered this excuse, he now believes he doesn't have to. It's not his problem. It will go unsolved.

Terrific.

 

[AlBell]

I'd say it's an attempt to glean a few more jewish votes.

 

[Unabogie]

What makes this a gaffe is that, from it, we can divine something about his fledgling foreign policy. He's not the least interested in peace in the Levant, because he's already made up his mind.

The "fact" that many say is "obvious," i.e., Romney's belief, certainly hasn't been reached by extensive study of the region. He knows next to nothing of foreign policy. But, having tendered this excuse, he now believes he doesn't have to. It's not his problem. It will go unsolved.

Terrific.

Not to mention it directly contradicts what he's said in public about it.

In public, Romney has not declared the peace process pointless or dismissed the two-state solution. In July, when the Israeli newspaper Haaretz asked Romney if he supports a two-state solution and the creation of a Palestinian state, he replied, "I believe in a two-state solution which suggests there will be two states, including a Jewish state." Yet Romney’s remarks to these funders—this was one of his longest answers at the fundraiser—suggest he might be hiding his true beliefs regarding Israel and the peace process and that on this subject he is out of sync with the predominant view in foreign policy circles that has existed for decades.

So the problem for Romney is that his foreign policy is hopelessly muddled. Will he support and defend a two-state solution? Or does he think that's a terrible idea? Wouldn't it be great to know before we elect the guy? Or is that just more Gotcha Journalism from the Lamestream Media?

 

[Travis]

Accurate statements now count as gaffes?

Romney has put his foot in his mouth a few times.. but I don't think this is one of them.

He is running for a position that would make him Head Of State. Saying something that would essentially preclude diplomacy is a major gaffe.

As a diplomat you have to say things that appease people even if they aren't essentially true.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

I'd say it's an attempt to glean a few more jewish votes.

If so, it's pretty insulting to the intelligence of Jewish voters.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

As a diplomat you have to say things that appease people even if they aren't essentially true.

True enough, but in this case Romney's statement isn't even essentially true.

It's not true that all Palestinians are opposed to the establishment of peace. It's probably not even true of the majority of Palestinians (even though his claim was a blanket condemnation of all Palestinians).

 

[Giz]

What makes this a gaffe is that, from it, we can divine something about his fledgling foreign policy. He's not the least interested in peace in the Levant, because he's already made up his mind.

The "fact" that many say is "obvious," i.e., Romney's belief, certainly hasn't been reached by extensive study of the region. He knows next to nothing of foreign policy. But, having tendered this excuse, he now believes he doesn't have to. It's not his problem. It will go unsolved.

Terrific.

Back on planet Reality, in order to constructively engage with a problem you first need to correctly diagnose the problem.

If you start by misdiagnosing the Mid-East peace impasse as caused by the Israelis (or by both sides) then you are unlikely to ever get peace. Why? Because you aren't attending to the problem, you are pandering to multicultural sensibilities who see Netanyahu as a big of an impediment to peace as Hamas.

 

[Giz]

He is running for a position that would make him Head Of State. Saying something that would essentially preclude diplomacy is a major gaffe.

A wise man once said: in order to constructively engage with a problem you first need to correctly diagnose the problem.

As a diplomat you have to say things that appease people even if they aren't essentially true.

He correctly identified the major problem in reaching a lasting middle east peace agreement. And that is a disqualification?

Are you suggesting that politicians should run for office on a platform of comforting lies and we should vote for them hoping that they do indeed know the truth but it would have been injudicious for them to have informed us?

Pol: the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are real!
Trav: I'm sure he knows that's not true really, he is just keeping lines of dialogue open with people who do believe in Santa Claus. What a safe pair of hands, he sure gets my vote!

 

[GlennB]

Accurate statements now count as gaffes?

Yes. "Angela Merkel has terrible b.o." might be accurate but it would be a horrendous gaffe if released to the public.

Obama mentioned this kind of thing is his nomination speech -
"You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally."

Actually spouting whatever random crap was going through your head at some random time is not a characteristic I'd like to see in the (possible) leader of the most powerful country on earth.