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

4:45 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: BuzzFeed, Balloon Juice, Taegan Goddard's …, The Hinterland Gazette, The Daily Dish and Telegraph

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, The Daily Dish, Riehl World View, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh, Washington Examiner and Balloon Juice

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: msnbc.com, Newsy and Washington Wire

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: Washington Wire, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Examiner

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:

Romney's Remarks on Olympics Cause Stir in London — LONDON — Mitt Romney's carefully choreographed trip to London caused a diplomatic stir when he called the British Olympic preparations “disconcerting” and questioned whether Londoners would turn out to support the Games.

Discussion: The Mahablog, New York Times, Telegraph, Shakesville, New York Magazine and Balloon Juice

BBC:

Boris Johnson hails ‘Olympomania’ for torch at Hyde Park — Mayor Boris Johnson has said that people coming to London for the Olympic Games will find it to be “the greatest city on earth”. — Mr Johnson was speaking as the Olympic flame was used to light a cauldron in front of thousands of cheering spectators in Hyde Park.

Discussion: Daily Mail, ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, The Political Carnival, Business Insider, Washington Post and The Hinterland Gazette

Paul Harris / Guardian:

A good point. … Mitt Romney's charm offensive. … Good morning and welcome to our Thursday live blog politics coverage. Mitt Romney has told London it is not ready to host the Olympics. The statement has drawn catty rebukes from the highest levels, i.e. Prime Minister David Cameron.

Discussion: Telegraph, Little Green Footballs and Daily Kos

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

David Blair / Telegraph:

Mitt Romney questions whether Britain is ready for Olympic Games — Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has questioned Britain's preparedness to host the London 2012 Olympics and asked whether the country is genuinely willing to “celebrate” the Games. — Mitt Romney

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, ABCNEWS, Taking Note, The Atlantic Cities, The PJ Tatler, Business Insider, Politico, Daily Kos, Guardian and USA Today

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Mediaite, iWatch News Latest Stories and Washington Post

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

Discussion: CNN

James Kirkup / Telegraph:
Olympics: David Cameron rejects Mitt Romney's suggestion Britain is not ready

Discussion: The Independent and Indecision Forever

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
‘D’ Is for Diplomacy — LONDON — Mitt Romney has only been …

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Jason Cherkis / The Huffington Post:
Mitt Romney Registered As Lobbyist For Salt Lake City Olympics

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS, The Agonist and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: Wonkette and Talking Points Memo

Pema Levy / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Anger Games: Cameron, British Press Pounce On Romney's Olympics Critiques

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Daniel W. Drezner, The Reality-Based Community and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Cameron reaffirms support for same-sex marriage on eve of Romney meeting

Discussion: ThinkProgress, ABCNEWS and Towleroad News #gay

Hélène Mulholland / Guardian:
Mitt Romney questions London's readiness for Olympic Games

Discussion: The Political Carnival, News Desk, USA Today, Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly

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: No More Mister Nice Blog, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Weasel Zippers, Washington Examiner, ABCNEWS, Wizbang, Bloomberg and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun Times:

Emanuel goes after Chick-fil-A for boss' anti-gay views — The anti-gay views openly espoused by the president of a fast food chain specializing in chicken sandwiches have run afoul of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and a local alderman, who are determined to block Chick-fil-A from expanding in Chicago.

Discussion: RedState, Fox News, Lynn Sweet, Moonbattery, Independent Journal Review, Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com, Weekly Standard, National Review, The PJ Tatler, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Anchoress

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

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Boston Globe:
Menino shouldn't block Chick-fil-A because of president's views

Discussion: Washington Examiner, ThinkProgress, Independent Journal Review, Maggie's Farm, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Datechguy's Blog, Taylor Marsh, Ed Driscoll, Althouse and Good As You

Fran Spielman / Chicago Sun Times:
Rahm welcomes help from Farrakahn, ignores anti-Semitic remarks

Discussion: JOSHUAPUNDIT, Wizbang, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Sister Toldjah, The Daily Caller, Algemeiner.com, protein wisdom, Weekly Standard and Hot Air

Linda Feldmann / Christian Science Monitor:

Why gun sales spike after mass shootings: It's not what you might think — After the Colorado shooting, gun sales have risen around the country. For some, it's because they want to buy a gun for self-protection. But there's a bigger reason, gun-shop owners say. — WASHINGTON

Discussion: The Latest Word and Clayton Cramer's Blog

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
Obama: AK-47s belong on battlefield, not streets

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, The Agonist, UrbanGrounds, BBC, Hullabaloo, Obsidian Wings and Indecision Forever

Dave Boyer / Washington Times:
Obama calls for measures against gun violence

Discussion: Independent Journal Review and Vox Popoli

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

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

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

Lymari Morales / Gallup:

U.S. Business Owners Now Among Least Approving of Obama — Professional workers are the most approving — WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. business owners' approval of President Barack Obama fell in the second quarter of 2012 to 35%, essentially tying farmers and fishers for the lowest approval among major occupational groups.

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, Power Line, Politico, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, Wake up America, The Strata-Sphere, Business Insider, Weekly Standard, GOP 12, National Review, Washington Free Beacon, Pirate's Cove and The Lonely Conservative

David Weigel / Slate:

It's a Weekday, So It's Time for Another Misleading Edit of an Obama Quote … - Republican-Sponsored Voter ID Laws Could Actually Disenfranchise a Lot of Republicans - Weigel: Another Misleading Edit of an Obama Quote - Did Darwin Have Smoldering Hepatitis? Should We Dig Him Up To Find Out?

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

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:

President Obama's Advice For Eagles QB Mike Vick — The commander-in-chief has a two words of advice for the comeback kid of the NFL: “slide more.” — At a campaign stop in Oakland on Monday, Obama asked Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who introduced the president at the event …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller