Horse's angst

There are not just a few political types on the right and the left in American politics hoping a horse named Rafalca takes a few tips from the Chinese women's badminton team.

Rafalca, owned by the wife of  U.S. presidential contender Mitt Romney, is competing in today's dressage event. Not a Joe the Plumber kind of sport.

"I'm not sure why the horse has to be in the most upper-class hoity-toity Olympic event ever invented," conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer kvetched on Fox News.

On the left, Rafalca is a source of unbridled glee.

MoveOn.org has put together 30-second campaign spots for TV that let the horse do the talking, in a breathlessly bad Austenesque English accent. The message: "After Mitt Romney repeals health care and ships your jobs overseas, I daresay your life won't be nearly as pampered as mine. After all, you're not one of his horses."

Rafalca and his rider, Jan Ebeling, finished 24th after Thursday's competition, which is okay for the political types. (And 10 behind the top Canadian, Ashley Holzer on Breaking Dawn.)

 Romney supporters fear a medal would be a little too high profile and make the Republican candidate the butt of horse jokes right through the November election.

London2012 photo/Jan Ebeling rides Rafalca