Filling the Olympics' 24-hour news cycle

The Sochi Olympics are over. The athletes performed. The winners stood on podiums and accepted their medals. There were exultations and disappointments — the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" in the television cliche, but there was no terrorist attack, and the accommodations and competition venues held up throughout the fortnight of events.

Who would've thought this just three weeks ago as the world's sports entertainment media descended on this Black Sea resort? All the talk at the time was about the likelihood of terrorism in this tumultuous region and the appalling lack of modern conveniences in the hotel rooms set aside for the news media.

Blame the 24-hour news cycle for this deceptive anticipation and stoking of anxiety. When you're sent to a far-off site at great expense to report on the opening of the Olympic Games, you have to report something, event if there is nothing of consequence to report. So the prelude to the opening of the Olympics was all about how Islamist extremists in the region could infiltrate Olympic security and turn the games into a tragic act of terrorism and how the lodging was not up to New York City or London standards and how the Russian president was exercising his totalitarian instincts at Sochi.

Over the next two weeks, none of these preludes segued into the symphony of the Olympics. The games went well, despite some disappointments and some complaints, as are common at all Olympic games. The weather at Sochi was warmer than expected, but the athletes dealt with the warmer temperatures that turned the snow at some events slushy or icy. Whatever the conditions, all of the athletes had to deal with it more or less equally.

The 24-hour news cycle that turned the build-up to the Olympics into an epic of fear-mongering also turns a simple college football game into an all-day extravaganza. The ESPN Game Day crew arrives half a day before the game and talks and talks and talks about every imaginable aspect of the two teams, the players, the coaches, the cheerleaders, the university administration, the weather, the tradition, the history, ad nauseam. Whatever you do, you have to fill the 24-hour news cycle, even when there's not much there in the way of news.

Romney should have stayed home

Mitt Romney's overseas trip had to be designed to add a bit of gravitas and foreign relations credibility to his resume. It hasn't worked out quite the way the strategists imagined.

If he never had opened his mouth on his tour of England, Israel and Poland, he might have been better off. Every time he delivered a speech or made casual remarks, it seems, he ended up with his foot in his mouth. He angered the mayor of London and the prime minister when he responded, frankly, that he wasn't sure that London was quite ready for the Olympic Games, citing some snafus regarding security. Then he upset Palestinians when he referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (the United States recognizes Tel Aviv as the capital) and then suggested that "culture" explains Israel's higher standard of living compared to the Palestinian territories. In Poland, his spokesman shouted vulgarities at the press corps, adding to the campaign's bad publicity.

In defense of Romney, there was good reason to have doubts about whether London's security around the games was adequate, but a presidential nominee should be smart enough to hold his tongue over such concerns. And it is true that culture, broadly defined, contributes to economic vitality. Culture in this sense includes such things as a tradition of bribery and kickbacks, equality of opportunity, a fair and trusted justice system, and a work ethic that includes striving to move up in the world. Israel has that; the Palestinian territories and most Arab countries do not.

Even if he's telling the truth and making accurate observations, Romney is not making much headway in this trip. As November draws near, he might regret spending time in Europe while he was losing ground among U.S. voters.