Friday, July 20, 2012

Mitt Romney's Disclosure Problem ... by gimleteye

If you want to be president of the United States, your life is going to be an open book. If you are going to run as king of the hill, you are running on your accomplishments: you have to show what you've earned and how you are investing it. Release your tax returns, Mitt.

Honestly, if the shoe was on the other foot, the SWIFTBOAT GOP strategists would be in a fever. If Mitt Romney has nothing to hide, then just release the damn tax returns. If he does (have something to hide), he shouldn't be running for president. In either case, he is handicapping himself in a way that is more bizarre the longer it lasts.

I'm not sure what Romney's game plan is, refusing to release his returns. To counter that the Obama camp attacks are "beneath the dignity of the office" is a very weak left hook. Americans want to know everything, and there are some Americans who remember the undisclosed past behavior of men who would be president do reveal character.

Certainly, the Romney camp is aware undecided's will determine the outcome of the election. Romney must be thinking that his tax returns contain ammunition that will add fuel to the fire. But tax returns, for better or worse, are one of those defining features of being an American and if a presidential candidate refuses to release the tax returns, you get what's coming.

Look, American voters felt that John Kerry -- a very wealthy candidate -- was "out of touch" and so they elected, twice, a man from an equal and perhaps even greater family fortune who put on one hell of an act that he was just a gee shucks, ordinary guy. We want to know what the candidates who would be president are made of. And it is a serious error for the candidate, Mitt Romney, who refuses to share with American voters what he apparently shared, before.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can't spell Romney without m-o-n-e-y.

Anonymous said...

The Congress,law makers & Senators should do the same and release their tax returns especially Nancy Peloski & Harry Reid who aren't willing to show theirs. What have they got to hide? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Isn't it transparency we want in government??

Anonymous said...

One Sunday morning, I was sitting at the intersection of SW 88 and 127 Ave. I was working (on a County truck). I saw two men removing campaign signs from the swale on the northeast side of the intersection. As we drew closer, I see it is David Rivera and another unidentified man. They were riding in a Mercedes SUV, the square looking one that is boxy and looks like a Land Rover. I said, "hey look, there's David Rivera pilfering campaign signs." Tried to get a pic but couldn't.

Anonymous said...

When Obama was running for President, he only released 2 years of tax returns - the same as Romney. Oh, and the cigarete smoker Obama only released a 1 page medical report on his health status, in contrast to dozens of pages by McCain, as is customary for presidential candidates. And Obama has yet to reveal anything about his academic records from Occidental or Columbia. So what is Obama trying to hide? Poor grades? Classes in Marxism? Foreign student status? Americans want to know what he is made of. Unless, of course, its only about partisan advantage, then of course, Obama gets a pass.