GDANSK, Poland – Mitt Romney is rapidly discovering the downside of a high-profile overseas trip – a visiting American presidential candidate makes an irresistible punching bag for foreign political leaders, and the resulting blows can overshadow whatever message the campaign had hoped to convey to voters back home.
Romney got the initial exposure to that problem during his trip’s first leg, in London, when British reporters jumped on remarks that seemed to criticize the host country’s preparations for the Olympics.
From there, he traveled to Jerusalem, where the stakes are much higher than Olympic bragging rights and the contending sides have had decades of practice in using visits from American dignitaries to advance their own agendas.
PHOTOS: Romney's travels abroad
At a fundraising breakfast Monday morning in Jerusalem with some of his largest donors, including casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Romney remarked that he saw the "power" of "culture" at work in the large disparity between living standards in Israel and its Palestinian neighbors.
Palestinian spokespeople, asked about the remark, initially by the Associated Press and then by other American reporters, reacted angrily, saying Romney had ignored the impact of Israeli government policy, which for years has favored economic development in Jewish areas, and the continued Israeli occupation of parts of the West Bank, which has disrupted commerce and communications in Palestinian areas.
“Oh my god, this man needs a lot of education,” said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. “What he said about the culture is racism.” The “Israeli occupation” is “the reason” for the income disparity, Erekat added.
By that time Romney had left Israel. And by the time he landed here for the final leg of his trip, Romney’s aides were in damage-control mode, insisting that the candidate’s remarks had been taken out of context and, at most, had simply repeated something that he had said before, including in his book, “No Apology.”
"This is something he has said repeatedly. It's been covered by every news organization that's written about it," Romney campaign Chief Strategist Stuart Stevens said. "It's a completely manufactured story that revolves around an observation that the Governor has made in his book.”
"This was not in any way an attempt to slight the Palestinians and everyone knows that."
Indeed, the gist of Romney’s remarks were quite similar to those in his book, in which he described his curiosity as a businessman traveling the world about why some countries advance and others don’t. As he did in the book, he juxtaposed two well known books he said he had read on the topic, "Guns, Germs and Steel," by Jared Diamond, which argues for the importance of disparities in natural resources as a source of differences in the wealth of human societies, and "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations" by David Landes, which argues for the importance of cultural differences.
“How could Israelis have created a highly developed, technology-based economy while their Palestinian neighbors have not yet even begun to move to an industrialized economy?” he wondered in the book.
Speaking to his donors, Romney repeated that thought, adding that “as I come here, and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things.”
Among the “other things” responsible for Israel’s success, he said, was “the hand of providence in selecting this place.”
Odds are that few Palestinians had read “No Apology,” but when Romney expressed those sentiments in their own backyard, sparks were certain, particularly since Palestinian leaders already were angry over his ardent embrace of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's right wing.
To Palestinians, even posing the question the way Romney did is likely to give offense. In their eyes, Israeli tanks, checkpoints and years of under-investment in roads, water lines and other infrastructure in Palestinian areas explains much of the difference in the economic status of Israel and the West Bank. Many Palestinians believe that Israel has deliberately hampered their economic growth in the hope of encouraging Arabs to leave the Palestinian areas for other countries, as many have done. Israelis, of course, see the matter differently, arguing that the measures they have taken are necessary for their security.
“Every extremist in the region is going to use what he’s said for ammunition for a long, long time,” Erekat said, referring both to the “culture” remark and Romney’s statement Sunday referring to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, language that departs from the long-standing U.S. position that the final status of the city is a matter for negotiations between the Israelis and Arabs.
As controversy over the statement grew, Romney’s campaign aides insisted that his words had been “mischaracterized.” In Monday’s remarks on how cultural differences might account for economic disparities, they noted, he had not singled out the Palestinians, but had also cited other “countries that are near or next to each other” that have large economic gaps, citing “Chile and Ecuador, Mexico and the United States."
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Twitter: @MaeveReston @DavidLauter
Romney got the initial exposure to that problem during his trip’s first leg, in London, when British reporters jumped on remarks that seemed to criticize the host country’s preparations for the Olympics.
From there, he traveled to Jerusalem, where the stakes are much higher than Olympic bragging rights and the contending sides have had decades of practice in using visits from American dignitaries to advance their own agendas.
PHOTOS: Romney's travels abroad
At a fundraising breakfast Monday morning in Jerusalem with some of his largest donors, including casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Romney remarked that he saw the "power" of "culture" at work in the large disparity between living standards in Israel and its Palestinian neighbors.
Palestinian spokespeople, asked about the remark, initially by the Associated Press and then by other American reporters, reacted angrily, saying Romney had ignored the impact of Israeli government policy, which for years has favored economic development in Jewish areas, and the continued Israeli occupation of parts of the West Bank, which has disrupted commerce and communications in Palestinian areas.
“Oh my god, this man needs a lot of education,” said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. “What he said about the culture is racism.” The “Israeli occupation” is “the reason” for the income disparity, Erekat added.
By that time Romney had left Israel. And by the time he landed here for the final leg of his trip, Romney’s aides were in damage-control mode, insisting that the candidate’s remarks had been taken out of context and, at most, had simply repeated something that he had said before, including in his book, “No Apology.”
"This is something he has said repeatedly. It's been covered by every news organization that's written about it," Romney campaign Chief Strategist Stuart Stevens said. "It's a completely manufactured story that revolves around an observation that the Governor has made in his book.”
"This was not in any way an attempt to slight the Palestinians and everyone knows that."
Indeed, the gist of Romney’s remarks were quite similar to those in his book, in which he described his curiosity as a businessman traveling the world about why some countries advance and others don’t. As he did in the book, he juxtaposed two well known books he said he had read on the topic, "Guns, Germs and Steel," by Jared Diamond, which argues for the importance of disparities in natural resources as a source of differences in the wealth of human societies, and "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations" by David Landes, which argues for the importance of cultural differences.
“How could Israelis have created a highly developed, technology-based economy while their Palestinian neighbors have not yet even begun to move to an industrialized economy?” he wondered in the book.
Speaking to his donors, Romney repeated that thought, adding that “as I come here, and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognize the power of at least culture and a few other things.”
Among the “other things” responsible for Israel’s success, he said, was “the hand of providence in selecting this place.”
Odds are that few Palestinians had read “No Apology,” but when Romney expressed those sentiments in their own backyard, sparks were certain, particularly since Palestinian leaders already were angry over his ardent embrace of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's right wing.
To Palestinians, even posing the question the way Romney did is likely to give offense. In their eyes, Israeli tanks, checkpoints and years of under-investment in roads, water lines and other infrastructure in Palestinian areas explains much of the difference in the economic status of Israel and the West Bank. Many Palestinians believe that Israel has deliberately hampered their economic growth in the hope of encouraging Arabs to leave the Palestinian areas for other countries, as many have done. Israelis, of course, see the matter differently, arguing that the measures they have taken are necessary for their security.
“Every extremist in the region is going to use what he’s said for ammunition for a long, long time,” Erekat said, referring both to the “culture” remark and Romney’s statement Sunday referring to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, language that departs from the long-standing U.S. position that the final status of the city is a matter for negotiations between the Israelis and Arabs.
As controversy over the statement grew, Romney’s campaign aides insisted that his words had been “mischaracterized.” In Monday’s remarks on how cultural differences might account for economic disparities, they noted, he had not singled out the Palestinians, but had also cited other “countries that are near or next to each other” that have large economic gaps, citing “Chile and Ecuador, Mexico and the United States."
Follow Politics Now on Twitter
[email protected]
[email protected]
Twitter: @MaeveReston @DavidLauter