7 Struggle Moments From Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign [PHOTOS/VIDEO] - Page 4

Things are not going too well for Mitt Romney. On one hand, he has out-raised President Obama in campaign funds, more than once, and garnered a small but noteworthy lead in the polls; but the last few months have been nothing short of a bumpy ride.

In the race for electoral votes, Romney continues to trail his opponent, and things have pretty much slid downhill from there. As the public can see, the former governor is building his campaign on the strength that Obama has weakened the economy so badly, that he does not deserve a second chance. Standing on a business background that has catapulted his net worth above the $100 million mark, Romney works to show that he is prepared to lead the country out of financial despair—but the job is proving to be harder than he may have anticipated.

With the Republican National Convention in his political rearview mirror, and a presidential debate on the horizon, Romney still has work to do. In light of the many embarrassing headlines that he’s grabbed before (and after) prevailing as the official Republican choice for president during the RNC, we’ve pulled out a few that were just too damaging to pass up.

Not to completely massacre his dreams, but it’s pretty clear that Romney won’t be taking the seat in the oval office that he’s been hoping for, and here are seven struggle moments proving our theory.

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Photo: indigenousxicano.blogspot.com

Calling “47 Percent” Of Americans “Dependent on Government” & Accusing Them Of Not Paying Taxes

Of all the strange things Romney has done footage of him at a private fundraiser in May is among the most awkward. Romney was secretly recorded telling donors that “47 percent” of Americans will vote for President Obama because they feel entitled to health care and other amenities, see themselves as “victims,” and don’t pay income taxes.

He then stated that his focus is on the smaller percentage of potential voters that he knows will side with his policies. The video was damaging because it shows Romney as being more concerned with the rich, than middle-class, and poor citizens.

Also, he’s the last person who should bring up the subject of paying taxes.

His Disastrous Overseas Tour

Romney’s July trip overseas was doomed from the start. Before arriving in London, he slammed the city for not being prepared to deal with the influx of foot traffic due to the Summer Olympics. His words angered London’s mayor, who quipped “I heard there’s a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we’re ready [for the Olympics].” If that wasn’t bad enough, Romney continued his trek playing to a like-minded crowd of Israelis, where he blasted Palestinians, who in return called him a racist that “lacks knowledge.”

Bookending the trip with another damaging stop—this time in Poland— one of Romney’s aide’s told the media “Kiss my a**!”  for asking him questions while at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Wait, isn’t the media’s job to ask questions?

The Entire Republican National Convention

Before it was even scheduled to start, Mother Nature proved to not be fond of the Republican National Convention. The first day of the RNC was pretty much canceled after Hurricane Isaac rolled through the southern states. Once they were back on track, Romney’s wife, Ann, offered up a speech humanizing her husband as a loving partner, father, son, and grandfather. Ann’s words received minimal criticism, but just when things were looking up…VP running mate Paul Ryan gave a speech littered with inaccuracies.

Then there was the “Clint Eastwood-factor.” Eastwood, a surprise speaker at the RNC, confused those in attendance (and viewers across the nation) with his bizarre argument with a foul-mouthed invisible President Obama, “seated” right behind him. Rather than helping Romney’s fight, Eastwood came off as a bitter elderly man, who had no clue that he was on live television, or speaking to an audience.

Being Booed By The NAACP

Romney’s decision to address the NAACP, albeit brave, was doomed from the start. Since a large percentage of NAACP members are Obama supporters (information which Romney’s aides could have found via a quick Google search), the 65-year-old made a bad move by attacking the president, rather than solely outlining his own policies. Had he chosen to simply paint himself as a better alternative, he may not have been booed by the crowd.

On the positive side, he expected the heckling.

Praising A Veteran For His Service, Then Getting Weird After Learning That He Was Gay

Mitt Romney found himself between a rock and a hard place when he had a conversation with a gay veteran. A staunch believer that marriage is “between and man and a woman,” Romney was understandably surprised to learn that Bob Garon, the 63-year-old vet who he was speaking to, was actually a gay man. Garon brought up the issue of same s-x marriage, and his partner not being allowed to have access to his benefits, and Romney looked utterly petrified by the conversation. He had no choice but to physically remove himself from the situation.

How awkward.

Saying He’d Have A Better Chance Of Winning The Election If His Dad Was From Mexico

Even though he’s working to grab the attention of Hispanic voters, Romney opened his mouth to utter a racially insensitive statement about the very people that he hopes to win over. In the extended clip from the aforementioned secretly taped fundraising dinner in May, Romney came out and “jokingly” stated that he could be president if he was a minority. “Had he [my father] been born of, uh, Mexican parents, I’d have a better shot at winning this. But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico.”

Wow.

Accusing President Obama Of Siding With Libyans Over Bombing Of U.S. Consulate

The uprising in the Middle East and North Africa stemming from an inappropriate movie defaming the Islamic religion cost the life of U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens. Rather than choosing his words more carefully, Romney used the event to launch an attack on Obama, who he accused of “sympathizing” with Libyans. In his mind, the Obama Administration’s first reaction was “not to condemn attack on our diplomatic mission.” Clearly unaware of Obama’s address after the attack, Romney’s words opened the door to more backlash.

Nearly half of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center poll disapproved of Romney’s words, and being that the story is the “most followed international story thus far in 2012,” the reaction shined a light on Romney’s weakness: foreign policy.