Mitt Romney hasn't had the easiest summer. It's not just his neck-and-neck poll numbers, despite running against an incumbent mired in a sluggish economy. It's not just that his nominating convention is getting hijacked by a hurricane. It's not even just that the horse partially owned by his wife came up short in an Olympic competition that he uncomfortably, preemptively criticized.
Romney's summer has been snakebit, marked by a series of unfortunate events, often outside of his control. So as his long summer finally comes near a close, we look back on its dog days.
1. Learn How to Be An American
Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gets ready to speak as former Gov. John Sununu pulls up his socks at a town hall meeting at the Exeter Town Hall Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, in Exeter, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
July got off to a rocky start when Romney campaign surrogate and former New Hampshire governor John Sununu said on a conference call that he wished President Obama "would learn how to be an American." Sununu later said that he misspoke.
2. Olympics in the Middle of Nowhere
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to reporters in front of 10 Downing Street after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London, Thursday, July 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Before arriving in London, Romney kicked off his British excursion on the wrong foot by telling NBC that he found security issues leading up to the games "disconcerting." British Prime Minister David Cameron was none-too-pleased, responding with a criticism of his own about the Salt Lake City Olympics that Romney oversaw: "We are holding an Olympic Games in 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.”
3. A Holy Site
Traveling Press Secretary Rick Gorka, center, boards a charter plane with Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, in Tel Aviv, Israel as they travel to Poland, Monday, July 30, 2012. Also pictured are policy director Lanhee Chen, second left, and trip director Charlie Pearce. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
While in Poland during the same overseas trip, a traveling press secretary with the Romney campaign created a bit of a firestorm of his own. When pushed by Romney's traveling press pool at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier about campaign gaffes, press aide Rick Gorka lost his temper. “Kiss my ass. This is a Holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect,” he said. Gorka later apologized
4. Delayed Rollout
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right and vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., greet supporters as they arrive at a rally at the Randolph Macon college, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 in Ashland, Va. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer))
The memorial service for victims of the Sikh temple shooting in Rep. Paul Ryan's Wisconsin district was held on Friday, Aug.10 -- the same day Romney had initially intended to do his rollout announcing Ryan as his running mate. The campaign had to move the event from Friday in New Hampshire to Saturday in Virginia.
5. The Next President of the United States
Mitt Romney introduces U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate during a campaign event at the retired battleship USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia August 11, 2012. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
When Romney did present his vice presidential pick, he accidentally introduced Paul Ryan as "the next president of the United States." Romney quickly realized his mistake -- the same one Barack Obama made in 2008 -- and corrected himself once Ryan reached the podium.
6. Legitimate Rape
In this Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012 photograph, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., talks with reporters while attending the Governor's Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Mo. Akin was keeping a low profile, Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, a day after a TV interview in which he said that women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in "a legitimate rape" and that conception is rare in such cases. ((AP Photo/Orlin Wagner))
Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican Senate candidate for Missouri, added to Romney's summer woes when he suggested in a television interview that women can't become pregnant from rape. He told KTVI that "if it's a legitimate rape the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." Romney and countless other GOP leaders called on Akin to drop out of the Senate race. So far, they've had no luck.
7. No One's Ever Asked To See My Birth Certificate
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally with vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 in Commerce, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
At a campaign stop in Michigan on Aug. 24, Romney went off his economic message with a remark that landed heavier than he may have intended. To a crowd of several thousand, Romney said, “I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born. Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital. I was born in Harper Hospital. No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.” Romney later said that line was a joke, but his campaign quickly found itself playing defense.
8. Isaac Cometh
Tropical Storm Isaac as of early Monday afternoon (NOAA)
Tropical Storm Isaac shaved one day off the Republican National Convention before it started. As the storm threatened to make landfall as a hurricane over New Orleans, the GOP was considering truncating the convention further. The campaign badly wanted to use this convention to re-introduce its nominee on its terms, but Isaac may have the final say.
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