Romney tops off London trip with Olympic Games

Mitt Romney and his wife Ann wave during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium on Friday, July 27.

/ TOBY MELVILLE/AFP/GettyImages

(CBS News) Ready or not, the 2012 London Olympic Games are finally here. And while Mitt Romney voiced his doubts about just how ready the U.K. would be, he and his family seemed to be enjoying Friday night's Opening Ceremony.

"Awesome," the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's son Tagg Tweeted on Friday from the stands, sharing a photo of a lit-up Olympic Park. Doug Mills of the Associated Press Tweeted around 4 p.m. local time that Romney had arrived, and was "shaking hands with others in the VIP section."

(Romney meets with British leaders in London.)

As the ceremony kicked off, Romney and his wife Ann - who has a horse in the Dressage event of the Games - stood and waved, smiling at the crowd. (First lady Michelle Obama also attended.)

But a series of missteps since Romney's arrival in London earlier in the week, including a comment questioning London's preparedness that set off a tirade in the British press, hadn't been forgotten. Twitter users in both the United States and Britain reported that booing erupted in several Olympics viewing parties when Romney appeared on the TV screen.

(Romney dodges Olympics traffic in London.)

One day earlier, British Prime Minister David Cameron took a swipe at Romney's own experience in helping organize the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. After Romney critiqued that he found London's security efforts for the Games "disconcerting," Cameron defended his city as "one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world.

"Of course, it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere," Cameron said.

Romney on Saturday stopped by the men's 400 individual medley heats swimming event before he was scheduled to travel to Israel, the next stop on his foreign trip where he may have a chance to redeem himself on the world stage.

Mitt Romney, with his wife Ann, shakes hands with an unidentified man in the men's 400m individual medley heats swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on Saturday, July 28.

/ MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/GettyImages

[mikesfilms]

to flip-flop Romney need to add foot-in-the-mouth Romney.

[mikesfilms]

Rom's plan for the nation: cancel your Medicare, reduce your Social Security check, no more COLAs, eliminate the EPA, the SEC, the Department of Education, the banking commission, food stamps, Medicaid, Student Aid, the Post Office, Health Care and dozens others; lay off police, firemen, teachers, park rangers, using the savings to lower the Deficits and pay off the Debt? Hell no! For deep tax cuts to himself and the Romney-likes. He'll shaft the nation to create more millionaires. The sane will keep Obama.

[amysmith17]

First, most pollsters are missing one ingredient — common sense. Here is my gut instinct. Not one American who voted for John McCain four years ago will switch to Obama. Not one in all the land.

But many millions of people who voted for an unknown Obama four years ago are angry, disillusioned, turned off, or scared about the future. Voters know Obama now — and that is a bad harbinger.

Now to an analysis of the voting blocks that matter in U.S. politics:

Black voters. Obama has nowhere to go but down among this group. His endorsement of gay marriage has alienated many black church-going Christians. He may get 88 percent of their vote instead of the 96 percent he got in 2008. This is not good news for Obama.

Hispanic voters. Obama has nowhere to go but down among this group either. If Romney picks Florida Sen. Marco Rubio as his VP running-mate, the GOP may pick up an extra 10 percent to 15 percent of Hispanic voters (plus lock down Florida). This is not good news for Obama.

Jewish voters. Obama has been weak in his support of Israel. Many Jewish voters and big donors are angry and disappointed. I predict Obama's Jewish support drops from 78 percent in 2008 to the low 60s. This is not good news for Obama.

Youth voters. Obama's biggest and most enthusiastic believers from four years ago have graduated into a job market from hell. Young people are disillusioned, frightened, and broke — a bad combination. The enthusiasm is long gone. Turnout will be much lower among young voters, as will actual voting percentages. This not good news for Obama.

Catholic voters. Obama won a majority of Catholics in 2008. That won't happen again. Out of desperation to please women, Obama went to war with the Catholic Church over contraception. Now he is being sued by the Catholic Church. Majority lost. This is not good news for Obama.


Read more on Newsmax.com: Obama Is Losing Support Like a Sinking Ship
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

[ericmooreart]

At least Romney attended. I mean Its nice the first lady is there but at least the Vice president should have gone if only for the opening ceromonies.

I guess campaigning is more important, just like a media interview was more important then Obama addressing the NAACP. Or could it have been that security issue Romney brought up. Hmmmmm. We'll never know.

[venusvegasvada]

I'd like to hear more about the Romney's Olympic horse and the event it's going to be in.