The Gaffe Awards

Recently, I was asked to contribute another article for the HAJET magazine, Polestar, regarding political misquotes or gaffes.  It was among the most fun I've had writing in a long time, because it was an excuse to wade through all of the ridiculous things politicians have said that are now caught on video and put on YouTube.  I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did! 

The Gaffe Awards

The campaign cycle in the U.S. has exploded in scope in recent decades to the point that the end of one election cycle simply means that we’re already three months into the next series of elections.  As the amount of money and time devoted to elections increases, the candidates’ risk of making serious gaffes also increases. 

Although there are technically two Republican candidates still in the race to challenge President Obama in November – Mitt Romney and Ron Paul – Mitt Romney is the presumptive Republican nominee.  Now that it’s essentially a two-person race, President Obama vs. Former Governor Romney, the time is fitting to review some of their more famous gaffes to date and recognize the best thus far.  Current Vice-President Joe Biden, who has a reputation for speaking before thinking, also provides plenty of quality gaffes to chose from, and some of his better ones are included.  


1. Most Likely to Haunt their Campaign:

Taipei, Hualien, and Kenting, Taiwan

In Japan at the beginning of May, a series of national holidays align to create two really long weekends.  It's called "Golden Week" because for those who can take paid leave, taking two days off during the week can create a 9-10 day vacation.  Perfect for traveling!


Last year, I used Golden Week to go home and visit my family.  This year - being that it is my last year in Japan - I wanted to use this time to visit a different Asian country while I have the convenience of being in Asia.  I want to visit so many different countries that I had a hard time deciding where to go.  So, I visited SkyScanner and looked for the cheapest direct flights from Sapporo-Chitose to any other country in the world.  Predictably, South Korea and Taiwan came up.  South Korea became my spring break trip, and Taiwan became my Golden Week vacation.