Team Obama seeks to convert on Romney 'fumbles'

(CNN) - If Mitt Romney has indeed fumbled the football overseas, President Barack Obama's campaign may well be seen as spiking it.

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday the Republican presidential candidate's overseas trip has put his readiness for the Oval Office in question.

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"He's now been to two countries and he's had two countries where he has made a series of fumbles," she said. "He's been fumbling the foreign policy football from country to country.

And there's a threshold question that he has to answer for the American people and that's whether he is prepared to be commander-in-chief," she continued. "As we look to the past events, we know that this raises some questions about his preparedness and we'll see how the rest of his trip goes."

Psaki was referring to what some have seen as Romney's missteps over the last several days in London and Israel.

In London, some saw his answer to a question about the Olympic games as a gaffe.

"You know it's hard to know just how well it will turn out," he said in an interview with NBC News, explaining that issues with a private security contractor and labor issues were "disconcerting." After a meeting with the British prime minister, who himself responded to Romney's remarks, the candidate said he was "very delighted with the prospects of a highly successful Olympic Games."

The episode brought mocking headlines from British newspapers his way.

Days later, a prominent Palestinian leader called out one of Romney's statements in Jerusalem "racist."

Palestinian negotiator Sa'eb Erekat said Romney's "racist statements about the Israeli culture being superior to the Palestinian culture reflect someone who needs to be educated, who needs knowledge." Romney pointed out a wealth disparity between Israel and the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

Psaki's Monday statement - made to reporters on Monday - is the latest in a volley over Romney's foreign trip. On Sunday, Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser to Obama's reelection campaign, said "I think it's clear that voters in this country wonder aloud whether Mitt Romney is ready for the world."

Romney adviser Kevin Madden said Sunday that any gaffes in the campaign would be overshadowed in voters' eyes.

"I don't think that a gaffe or a YouTube moment is really going to make or break this particular election," he said on ABC News' "This Week." "I think it's going to be about the direction of the country, how we rebuild the economy, how we continue to have a stronger national security posture around the globe."

But on Monday, Psaki had a different perspective: "I think 'foreign policy fumble' has a nice ring to it."

Romney's trip continued in Poland on Monday.

– CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report

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