Dear Commons Community,

In an otherwise blah presidential race, Mitt Romney has provided a couple of interesting moments.  Last week, in a well-publicized foot-in-mouth comment, he managed to insult the British because of their handling of the Olympics.  Yesterday, he offended Palestinian leaders by suggesting that cultural differences explain why the Israelis are so much more economically successful than Palestinians.  The New York Times commented:

“His remarks drew a pointed rebuke from the Palestinian leadership, which angrily noted that Mr. Romney had failed to mention the years of trade restrictions imposed by Israel.

The comments came after he questioned London’s preparations for the Olympic Games while in that city, drawing criticism from the British prime minister and others. And they once again overshadowed a trip that was designed to show his dexterity on the foreign policy front, as his remarks put him in the choppy crosscurrents of Israel-Palestinian affairs where American presidents have often served as mediators.”

In addition, a number of politicians and the media continue to push Romney to release his past income tax returns.  Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader was quoted as saying:

“His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son,” Reid said, in reference to George Romney’s standard-setting decision to turn over 12 years of tax returns when he ran for president in the late 1960s.

Saying he had “no problem with somebody being really, really wealthy,” Reid sat up in his chair a bit before stirring the pot further. A month or so ago, he said, a person who had invested with Bain Capital called his office.

“Harry, he didn’t pay any taxes for 10 years,” Reid recounted the person as saying.

“He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” said Reid. “But obviously he can’t release those tax returns. How would it look?”

Thank you Mr. Romney for giving us voters something to think about!

Tony