Dumb it down

Another day and another gaff from US presidential candidate and the worlds most famous Mormon, Mitt Romney...

By Brian Moss

So what’s the story with that Romney lad?

Well, Mitt Romney was secretly filmed at a party in California, held for wealthy political donors, making some interesting remarks about those who support President Obama...

Oh? What did he say?

The presidential candidate and former governor of Massachusetts said that 47% of Americans see themselves as victims and will vote for Obama no matter what. He also claimed that Obamas policies are attractive to those who don’t pay taxes.

Doesn't seem to bad so what’s the big deal then?

Romney is having a hard time convincing the middle and working class voters that he really understands their problems, that he isn't really one of them, so comments like this are about as welcome as diarrhoea on a first date.

Yea, that's not very nice alright. Did he do a typical political row back?

Well no, not exactly. In fairness to Romney he has stood over the comments but admitted that they weren't 'elegantly stated'. Romney, it appears, has all the elegance of Bambi... on ice.

Is this the first major gaff of the campaign?

Nope. Romney has already found himself in a bit of hot water about comments he made regarding London's Olympic preparations on a visit there earlier in the summer, and his campaign manager was involved in a highly published bust up with reporters on a trip to Poland. Many criticised Romney’s reluctance to publish tax records for the last couple of years as he has earned gazillions and his team fear this will alienate voters.

So who's ahead state side?

Not surprisingly the wooden Romney has failed to ignite the campaign but the inclusion of Paul Ryan as vice president on the Republican ticket has certainly helped. There are loads of different polls which differ state by state, district-by-district so it can be hard to make sense of it all. The main nationwide polls show that Obama is ahead but not by much in some cases as close as 51% to 49%. No matter what, the final outcome will be as tight as a ducks arse come the November election.

Any thing else I should know about?

Well both parties have held their conventions in the last few weeks. The conventions are the American version of the Ard Fheis for Irish political parties (with less drinking, of course). Obama received a rousing endorsement from President Bill Clinton whilst the most noteworthy incident to come form the republican convention was Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair...

Ah would you stop. He's getting old.

Also both candidates have pretty tasty wives... as far as politics goes.

Ann Romney

Michelle Obama