Das diplomatische Parkett ist nunmal ziemlich glatt. Das musste nun auch Mitt Romney leidvoll erfahren.

Einfluss auf die Wahl hat das aber wohl kaum. In der US-Politik hat die Aussenpolitik traditionell wenig Gewicht bei der Wahlentscheidung.

Boy, this trip sure has been a success. Needlessly insulting the English, our closest allies for well over a century, before he even got off the plane in London, and prompting howls and insults from the British press and government officials. Insulting the Palestinians by blaming their "culture" for their hardships - what kind of culture would that be exactly, Mr. Anglo Saxon? - and simultaneously staking out positions on Jerusalem and military action against Iran that would put us in a box with Israel against every single other country in the world. Insulting the Israeli opposition by canceling a meeting on two hours' notice at Netanyahu's behest, as Romney apparently needs Likud's approval over his own schedule. He's been to two countries and already had to walk back his or his advisers' statements three times. Sure looks better to me than the guy who repaired our standing with the world, got the EU to cut back oil imports from Iran without increasing the global price of oil, oversaw the downfall of dictatorships across the Arab world without losing a single American life, and got Osama bin Laden.

The whole point of this trip was to show himself as a capable leader on the world stage. So far he hasn't even shown himself capable of managing his own mouth. Earth to Mitt: us and (part of) Israel vs. the world is not a recipe for increasing America's influence abroad.