Go easy on him! He's probably writing Polish jokes for when he goes to Poland. Submarines and screen doors etc. Comedy gold!

Hopefully some (European, no doubt) reporter will have the temerity to ask him just what the fuck he IS doing over there in the first place, if not for any of those other things he's NOT doing.

I mean, I know lotsa people are straight up irrational with regards to anything Obama, but you'd figure Republican enthusiasm for this year's election has to be taking a bit of a hit. I mean, if Rmoney flubs this badly when he's not under pressure, how's he gonna handle the debates with Obama?

Also, isn't this a testament to the weakness of the Republican field. This is the best they can put out there?

Rmoney has had months to figure out how to finesse his ludicrous tax-deduction dancing horse, and he decides the best path is to demean his wife in the media and tell 60 million woman voters he won't hold her hand as they together watch the horse she rides compete in the Olympics?

Ann, DTMFA.

This just makes him look like a dick to his wife. His wife worked really hard on that horse and it went to the olympics and he doesn't care enough to watch it. Asshole.

just fucking own it, willard. it's your horse. make ann happy, lord knows she doesn't have a career to bury herself in.

at least say you'll have to catch it on Tivo.

or is there some reason you don't want to be on camera at a dressage competition, wearing a top hat, a morning suit, & a monocle?

Even more puzzling, he had a ready-made out in the fact that Ann has MS. Whether or not horse dancing actually does anything beyond a bizarro placebo effect for MS, would you hold it against a man to want to please his sick wife? I wouldn't.

But Willard lacks even the spin or the political savvy to pull that off too. What a waste of flesh.

Nor do I want to describe foreign policy positions I might have while I’m on foreign soil.

Because lord knows he'll flip-flop on them 10 times before he gets back on US soil. Seriously, is this some kind of bizarre version of saying "timeout" in the middle of a game of tag?

This is pretty sad. He should be able to at least support his wife, and his own horse, and be proud it is competing in the olympics.

Sure, he only owns a world-class dressage horse because he's rich, but everyone knows that he's rich.

The republicans are really failing to spin the horse in a positive way. Seems they could do a lot better.

@9 I think he's honestly afraid of looking "weak" towards the red-meat wing of his party. He's intimidated by the populist elements, and instead of winning them over through charisma, he's taken the most calculated way of making sure they'll at least tolerate him.

Or he's an autistic robot.

@5 How exactly did Anne Romney "work" really hard on that horse? She didn't train it and she sure as hell isn't riding it. She co-owns it. It's bought prestige. It's a fucking hobby and an excuse to get out of the house, all six of them. She might as well be Tide at NASCAR.

@#11
And if NASCAR had one big worldwide race every four years, you can be darn sure that the spouse of the CEO or owner of Procter & Gamble would be watching the Tide-emblazoned car race with that CEO or owner, even if said spouse was running for office.

I agree with the others saying that Mitt's an ass if he doesn't even go to watch his own wife compete in the fucking Olympics.

Not only that, but this uncultured American whom you could have a beer with just found out watching Hardball that "dressage" is pronounced in the Frenchie way, with emphasis on the second syllable, like you would say "corsage," rather than on the first syllable, like you would pronounce "message." It makes the competition seem even more elitist.

So the guy whose biggest résumé point is that he ran the Olympics is skipping the Olympic event that his wife's horse is competing in because he doesn't have time for all that Olympics nonsense?

@14: if you watch Hardball, you ain't much of an "uncultured American"!

REAL uncultured Americans don't know MSNBC exists.

@2, he went for a fundraiser organized by the then-CEO of Barclays.

@ Max (@6): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3ywa-9Cu…

I'm sure he doesn't even know what Ann is doing with all those corporations he put in her name on the eve of his gubernatorial inauguration either.

Distancing himself just makes it worse, by making him look like a) he's ashamed of his wife and her dancing pony and b) he's an emotionally barren asshole for not showing up at a family event. It's like not showing up at your kid's recital.

@11, Does she seriously not ride the horse? I thought that was why is was good for her MS. What the fuck does she do with it?

I can hardly wait for the debates. It will be another repeat of the 1960 debate between Kennedy (cool and humorous) and Nixon (sweaty and crazy-looking).

@21 she probably brushes it once in awhile, just to be for a moment, next to an actual honest to god beating heart.

@21 - Ann does ride, just not Rafalca. Not unusual in the horse world. When a trainer is campaigning a horse the owner generally does not ride, they act as sponsor. It takes an extremely skilled rider to work with an international caliber horse like Rafalca, they are not generally amateur friendly even for experienced riders like Ann.

@14 I'm going to intentionally misponounce it from now on. The same way my mom intentionally mispronounces Target and garbage.

So, let me get this straight. The reason we should vote for Rmoney is he has business experience, but we can't talk about his business experience. We should vote for Rmoney because he will improve our relationships with foreign leaders who he's currently visiting and both insulting and forgetting their names. Rmoney is better than Obama on foreign policy but we're not allowed to ask about his foreign policy or ask what he's talking about with those foreign leaders.

I need some help understanding this. Where's Gay Dude For Romney? Only he could possibly make this sound good for Rmoney.

Ooh! Oooh! I think I've got it. Mitt Romney is Fight Club! That's why we can't talk about it. I finally understand.