memeorandum: Olympics: Mitt Romney seeks to play down London 2012 comments (Rosa Prince/Telegraph)

8:55 PM ET, July 26, 2012

Top Items:

Joshua Keating / FP Passport:

Romney book: Britain is a tiny island that makes stuff nobody wants — Mitt Romney has already gotten in a spot of trouble in London for suggesting that Britain may not be quite ready to host the Olympic Games. Romney has walked back his comments, but it's not the first time the candidate …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's …, Telegraph, Taylor Marsh, msnbc.com, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, BuzzFeed, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, The Hinterland Gazette, The Political Carnival and The Daily Dish

Guardian:

Mitt Romney's Olympics blunder stuns No 10 and hands gift to Obama — US presidential hopeful backtracks on warning of ‘disconcerting’ signs for Games after light-hearted rebuke by David Cameron — Mitt Romney handed Barack Obama a priceless gift for the US presidential election campaign …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Washington Post, The Hill, The New Republic, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Examiner

Adam Gabbatt / Guardian:

Oh, Mitt: those Romney gaffes in full — Boobs, blunders, clangers - whatever you call them, Romney likes to drop them. And he's really outdone himself in London — From criticising the biggest sporting event Britain has held in over 40 years, to “looking out of the backside of 10 Downing Street” …

Discussion: Firedoglake, BBC, News Desk, Mediaite, TBogg, USA Today, ThinkProgress, Business Insider and Indecision Forever

Alex Spillius / Telegraph:

Commentary: if Mitt Romney doesn't like us, we shouldn't care — Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive. — Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Daily Dish, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, Washington Wire and msnbc.com

Steve Holland / Reuters:

“Anglo-Saxon” quote overshadows start of Romney tour — (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney began a foreign tour on Wednesday forced to disavow a report that an adviser had accused President Barack Obama of not understanding the shared “Anglo-Saxon heritage” of Britain and the United States.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, American Prospect, Swampland, The Daily Dish, The Moderate Voice and Weekly Standard

Owen Gibson / Guardian:

David Cameron hits back at Mitt Romney over London 2012 doubts — Prime minister says Olympics have brought the UK together to put on a ‘friendly Games’ for international visitors — The prime minister has hit back at comments from the US presidential candidate Mitt Romney querying Britain's readiness …

Discussion: Sky News, Riehl World View, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Examiner, Washington Monthly and Balloon Juice

Rob Williams / The Independent:

Mr Leader? Did Mitt Romney forget Ed Miliband's name? — Mitt Romney follows gaffe over Britain's readiness to hold Olympic games by appearing to forget name of Labour leader — NOTE: WE DO NOT STORE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS(ES) BUT YOUR IP ADDRESS WILL BE LOGGED TO PREVENT ABUSE OF THIS FEATURE.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, USA Today, The Hill, News Desk, Newsy and Taylor Marsh

Sara Murray / Washington Wire:
Romney's Not-So-Secret Meeting With MI6

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette and The Raw Story

Paul Harris / Guardian:
A good point. … Mitt Romney's charm offensive.

Discussion: Telegraph, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever and Conservatives4Palin

Chris Good / ABCNEWS:
Made in China: Olympic Pin Shaped Like Mitt Romney's Face

Discussion: Truthdig, Daily Kos, Mediaite, iWatch News Latest Stories and Washington Post

Rosa Prince / Telegraph:
Olympics: Mitt Romney seeks to play down London 2012 comments

Discussion: Wonkette, Univision News Tumblr, News Desk and Business Insider

Glen Johnson / The Boston Globe:
Romney faces backlash over Olympics comments

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The PJ Tatler

BuzzFeed:
Mitt Romney Issued Comically Bizarre Cartoon-Mitt-Romney Olympic Pins

Discussion: The Huffington Post

David Taintor / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Mitt Romney is off to a spectacularly bad start in London …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Guardian, Wonkette, The Impolitic, Booman Tribune, Hullabaloo, The Reality-Based Community and Talking Points Memo

Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Olympics Committee: No Games footage in campaign ads

Discussion: ABCNEWS, NewsBusters.org blogs, Mediaite and GOP 12

Daily Mail:
‘Are we ready? Yes we are!’ …

Discussion: Rumproast, Politicker and Business Insider

CNN: TRENDING: Romney's Olympics false start

First Read / msnbc.com:
Romney steps onto the world stage

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Althouse, Taegan Goddard's …, Telegraph and The Impolitic

BBC:
Boris Johnson hails ‘Olympomania’ for torch at Hyde Park

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mediaite, The Political Carnival, Little Green Footballs and Washington Post

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama super-PAC pulls ad using Olympic footage

Discussion: CNN

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:
Romney's Remarks on Olympics Cause Stir in London

Discussion: CNN, Gawker, Boston Globe, Telegraph, The Atlantic Cities, The Mahablog, New York Magazine, New York Times, Daniel W. Drezner, Shakesville and Balloon Juice

Adam Serwer / Mother Jones:

In Defense of Chick-Fil-A — Dan Cathy, the president of the fast-food franchise Chick-fil-A, doesn't like same-sex marriage. He believes that “we're inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.”

Discussion: Univision News Tumblr, Hullabaloo, Ed Driscoll and Washington Examiner

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Rahm Emanuel's dangerous free speech attack — Chicago blocks a business from expanding because its president opposes same-sex marriage — Should government officials be able to block businesses from opening or expanding due to disagreement with the political views of the business' executives?

Discussion: Boston Globe, American Power, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Examiner, Maggie's Farm, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wizbang, Independent Journal Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Weasel Zippers

Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun Times:
Emanuel goes after Chick-fil-A for boss' anti-gay views

Discussion: RedState, Lynn Sweet, Independent Journal Review, Weekly Standard, Moonbattery, Sister Toldjah, National Review, Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com, Fox News, The PJ Tatler, iOwnTheWorld.com and Hot Air

Joshua Rhett Miller / Fox News:
Legal eagles cry fowl over politicians' plans to block Chick-fil-A

Discussion: Newsy, Riehl World View and Swampland

Greg Turner / Boston Herald:
Menino says he can't actively block Chick-fil-A

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Gawker

Hal Dardick / Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Chick-fil-A owner wants to talk with Emanuel

Discussion: GLAAD, Politico, Towleroad News #gay and Gawker

KNSD-TV:
Protest Disrupts Grand Opening of Laguna Hills Chick-fil-A

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post:

It's not OK to ignore this pro-Romney ad — There are two really effective campaign ads blanketing the airwaves. One from each campaign. But only one of them is perhaps the most dangerous in its potential impact against its target. And Democrats better beware.

Discussion: Wake up America, Wizbang, Betsy's Page, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Althouse and American Prospect

David Weigel / Slate:
It's a Weekday, So It's Time for Another Misleading Edit of an Obama Quote

Discussion: Hit & Run, RedState, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Washington Examiner

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Context be damned: Obama's ‘It worked’ quote should work for Republicans

Discussion: The New Republic and Balloon Juice

Paul M. Barrett / Business Week:

Karl Rove: He's Back, Big Time — On the evening of June 29, Amedeo Scognamiglio, a jewelry designer on the Isle of Capri, met friends for drinks at the elegant Grand Hotel Quisisana. Around midnight, Scognamiglio says, “I noticed some familiar American faces.” He took to Twitter.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Truthdig

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Romney: ‘Looking Forward to the Bust of Winston Churchill Being in the Oval Office Again’ — At an event in London, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said, “I'm looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again.”

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

unionleader.com:

Romney's taxes: Why do they matter? — Mitt Romney is a rich man. Like everyone, rich or poor, he has done everything legally available to him to minimize the tax bite. There are very few people standing in line waiting for the opportunity to overpay their taxes.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Caucus, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, ThinkProgress and Taylor Marsh

Dianne Williamson / Worcester Telegram & Gazette:

‘Plans’ don't include sale to gay couple — It's bad enough that the Catholic Church discriminates against gay people. But it's poor form — and possibly illegal — to document the bigotry and then mistakenly email it to the victims. — This embarrassing etiquette lapse occurred …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Advocate

Michael A. Black / New York Times:

I Carried a Gun, and It Was Heavy — AS the families of James E. Holmes's victims continue to deal with this senseless tragedy, anti- and pro-gun groups are exchanging their standard barbs on gun control in America. Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, recently suggested …

Discussion: National Review and PoliPundit.com

Washington Wire:

A Recap of Romney's Tough Day in London — Mitt Romney experienced the U.K. media mill first-hand, getting off to a shaky start in the morning that served to amplify any subsequent misstep during the day, no matter how small, as he started his overseas tour.

Discussion: Power Line