I think you're halfway there. He doesn't get tact; at best it's a second language.
And in this case, there really ARE plenty of scary problems with the preparation of the London Olympics. Having made some of those mistakes himself, and not wanting to lie, he figured he'd mention that, in his honest opinion, there are some concerns.
Not the best thing to do when you're trying to craft a pretend persona as The Smiler. His handlers don't want honesty and an accurate portrayal of the world, least of all when it comes to security, or they'd dismantle the TSA and a dozen other institutions. And the UK is itself in the midst of a terrifying internal culture war about security and how much you get to spy on your own citizens, so everyone's extra-touchy about this subject.
no subject
And in this case, there really ARE plenty of scary problems with the preparation of the London Olympics. Having made some of those mistakes himself, and not wanting to lie, he figured he'd mention that, in his honest opinion, there are some concerns.
Not the best thing to do when you're trying to craft a pretend persona as The Smiler. His handlers don't want honesty and an accurate portrayal of the world, least of all when it comes to security, or they'd dismantle the TSA and a dozen other institutions. And the UK is itself in the midst of a terrifying internal culture war about security and how much you get to spy on your own citizens, so everyone's extra-touchy about this subject.