介绍罗姆尼 关注社会:米特·罗姆尼的外国之旅

关注社会:米特·罗姆尼的外国之旅  

The Republican's visit to three key allies is all about domestic
not foreign
politics.
TO HEAR Mitt Romney
the Republican presidential candidate
describe the world
Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy is a failure in o halves. Towards America's enemies and rivals
the charge goes
Mr Obama has proved weak
naive and apologetic. When dealing with friends and allies
the president is accused of being chilly and unreliable. This week the presumptive nominee embarked on a foreign trip designed to drive home that argument
involving three carefully chosen allies; Britain
Poland and Israel.
Bowing to the importance of generating favourable images back home
Mr Romney intended to use his swing through Britain to meet American petitors at the London Olympics and attend the opening ceremony on July 27th
where Michelle Obama
the first lady
will also be present. He will see David Cameron and other Senior ministers
as well as the leader of the opposition. Bowing to the tradition that American politicians do not pursue domestic squabbles when overseas
Mr Romney made sure to attack his Democratic rival just before he left. He used a speech to ex-servicemen in Nevada to charge Mr Obama with such failings as coddling Russia at the expense of NATO allies such as Poland
blinking in the face of unfair Chinese trade practices
playing politics with troop numbers in Afghanistan and above all lecturing and undermining Israel's leaders to the delight of its enemies.
罗姆尼很清楚给国内选民制造一个好的映象重要性，他打算在访英期间会晤美国奥运会代表团的成员，还要参加7月27日的奥运会开幕式；而现任第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马也会参加形式。他将会见大卫·卡梅伦和其他内阁成员，也将会见反对党领袖。遵循美国政治家在对外访问期间不在国内问题上起口角的传统，罗姆尼确信奥巴马会在他离开期间对自己展开攻势。他在内华达州曾对退伍军人发表了一个演讲，其中例数了奥巴马的种种败绩：新近俄罗斯而冷落了波兰这些北约盟国，对中国不公平贸易行为视而不见，在对阿富汗政策和驻军问题上朝三暮四，通过演讲损害以色列的领导人并取悦它的敌人。
In June Mr Romney told an evangelical[1] Christian group that his approach to Israel would be “by and large…the opposite” of Mr Obama's. On the eve of the candidate's trip
leading Romney supporters declared it a disgrace that Mr Obama had not been to Israel in his almost four years as president. A Florida congresswoman
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
noted that the president had found time to visit other countries in the Middle East
suggesting darkly that Americans could “only speculate” as to what lay behind this choice. Irked
the Obama campaign retorted that if reelected
Mr Obama had promised to visit Israel in his second term
and that Ronald Reagan never once made it there as president.
Senior figures in such friendly countries as Britain and Poland do not really recognise the first half of Mr Romney's plaint
that Mr Obama is a notable pushover on national security. Besides
when it es to the details that concern allies
such as the timing of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan or the scope of sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions
Mr Romney has not mitted himself publicly to more hawkish plans than Mr Obama. Security and intelligence co-operation beeen America and Israel is as deep as it has ever been.
But the second half of Mr Romney's charge resonates much more; that Mr Obama has been a chilly ally
seeming to set little store by personal relations with fellow leaders or displays of affection for friendly countries. In the case of Britain
sources say
Mr Obama's relative recent warmth towards Mr Cameron is in part an acknowledgment that his predecessor
Gordon Brown
was mishandled
as the president dismissed British demands for reassurance and access. The traditionally Atlanticist Poles felt sidelined not just by the policy implications of Mr Obama's “reset” of relations with Russia
but by the brusque way in which they were told to play along. Above all
Israeli nerves
as well as those of the Jewish munity in America
were jangled by Mr Obama's perceived coolness towards Israel
exemplified by his early attempts to reach out to Arab and Muslim public opinion.
The world has moved on since the time
four years ago
when Mr Obama was able to draw acrowd of around 200
000 to a speech in Berlin as a mere candidate. Yet even allowing for that
Mr Romney is not likely to generate much excitement. Even in Israel
where relations beeen Mr Obama and the prime minister
Binyamin Netanyahu
remain wary
Mr Netanyahu will not offer Mr Romney anything resembling an endorsement during his visit. It is a core te[2] of Israeli policy to maintain bipartisan support in America.
In short
Mr Romney's argument about Mr Obama's diplomatic stance is only half fair. But then it is an argument intended for domestic consumption
as part of a broader charge that Mr Obama is aloof and out of touch with the country he leads. As always when presidential candidates travel abroad
Mr Romney's trip is about votes
not diplomacy. If the Republican looks and sounds like an American statesman abroad
and
most important
avoids any obvious gaffes
his tour will have served its purpose.