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The Spectacle Blog
Which will exact the highest political cost: Mitt Romney’s Bain record and tax returns or Barack Obama’s “you didn’t do that on your own” speech? That’s one of the biggest questions of the presidential campaign to date.
So far there hasn’t been much movement in the polls, though the Obama speech is still relatively new compared to the Bain attacks. Jennifer Rubin makes the case that the Bain strategy has failed and Nate Silver wonders if the Romney campaign has overreacted to the charges.
But I’ve already seen strong anecdotal evidence that Obama’s speech minimizing personal achievement has created a backlash outside the Eastern corridor, among people who are not usually close followers of the presidential election. It has also had the effect of injecting some real passion into the robotic Romney’s campaign stump speech. As a businessman, Romney seems genuinely offended by the president’s remarks as opposed to some of the feigned outrage he has previously mustered on the trail. This is a simple philosophical issue, easy to understand, while the details of Bain and Romney’s tax returns are complicated.
That’s not to say that Romney’s finances can’t hurt him. Polls show large numbers of Americans view Romney as out of touch and are distrustful of his wealth, including many people in that small universe of undecided voters. How they weigh that against their judgment Obama is a failed president, an opinion many of them also hold, will determine the election’s outcome. Disclosures of facts like Romney earning $100,000 a year from a company he was effectively no longer working for could feed into concerns about him being out of touch with the economic concerns of ordinary voters.
But so far, there is no evidence Bain and taxes are moving the needle in this close race. We’ll soon learn what impact Obama’s anti-self-made gaffe has had, which is something very much worth paying attention to.
View all comments (15) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/07/18/bain-vs-you-didnt-build-that
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Butch| 7.18.12 @ 4:03PM
I speculate that Romney already had the small-business owners locked up, so I doubt there will be much movement in the polls. As to the effects of the tax returns, I don't know. Romney was a very successful businessman with, I'm sure, very complex tax returns. Depends on how many "independents" understand that very successful people do all kinds of legal things to minimize taxes, always their biggest expense.
Mr. Antle, on a related note: I am curious as to your response to NRs editorial position that Romney should release all his tax returns. Personally, I agree with Romney: they have enough, why give them more cannon fodder for their diversionary tactics?
W. James Antle III | 7.18.12 @ 4:25PM
I think he should release the last two years and then let the chips fall where they may.
Trinacria| 7.18.12 @ 7:32PM
Prediction: releasing only 1 year of tax returns is bait for Obama to chase during a debate, to which Romney will counter:
"I'm glad you raised that issue, Barry, as I'm sure you'll agree that the citizens of this great country should expect nothing less than complete transparency from those seeking the highest office of the land. For that reason, I'd like to propose a deal: I will release the last 10 years of my personal income tax returns if you'll agree to release your undergraduate and law school transcripts. Surely you'll agree that we owe the American people the opportunity to fully vet the candidates who are seeking their trust (or perhaps you'd prefer to invoke executive priviledge...again...)."
CJW| 7.18.12 @ 9:51PM
Mitt should ask Obama how Michelle got a raise from $100,000 to $300,000 per year for a "community relations attorney" for the Chicago hospital after the hospital got a million dollar earmark courtesy of Senator Obama. Any connection or a coincidence?
Or ask Obama to explain how Tony Rezko paid for Obma's real estate deal?
JP| 7.19.12 @ 3:52PM
And if there was one "questionable" item on the returns, the Dems will go crazy. The entire Beltway airwaves, blogesphere, and print media will create an event that will be billed as the 2nd Coming of Watergate. You know how these things go. Mitt would be a fool to release anything. He should have published a short statement stating that he would divulge his returns once the President releases all subpoenaed Fast and Furious documents.
Butch| 7.18.12 @ 8:00PM
Thanks. I agree. I would like to see an article on this subject. Juxtaposing the two things is a good idea, to me.
Skippy| 7.18.12 @ 5:33PM
Two is all. No mas, senor.
Tell Prince Bambo if he wants more, we'll trade for his college transcripts, straight across.
spike59| 7.19.12 @ 6:03AM
college transcripts, records from his IL State Senate days, Fast & Furious documents, actual records from his post-college private sector job, details of what he actually accomplished as a 'community organizer'...whatever he has made public hay with on the campaign trail is fair game-if he claims it, then it needs to be checked out and the results made public
mike 3/505| 7.18.12 @ 6:57PM
No matter how many Governor Romney releases, the statists will want more...as said above..."Dos. No mas." Now...let's talk about Fast and Furious.
spike59| 7.19.12 @ 5:58AM
i'm less concerned with what Romney paid in taxes than in what Barry did with them once he got them in his pocket
Fiscal| 7.19.12 @ 9:05AM
There is no issue here. There is obviously damaging information (from a political viewpoint) in Romney's tax returns. It could be foreign investments and it could be gains achieved by raiding companies which are all perfectly legal. So the issue is not whether he should release the returns -- he should not as there is no upside potential. However, making the specious arguments he is doing now, also is damaging as he looks more and more like someone without a conscience. His argument about being a "businessman" is also not helping because HE didn't build any large operations -- he just financed them for monetary gain.
The one thing he should focus on is that whatever he has managed has been a success and he has made good decisions. The one thing I really like about Romney is that he gets things done and doesn't let ideology stand in his way. Obama couldn't manage his way out of a wet paper bag. That's the difference...
Ryan| 7.19.12 @ 10:31AM
I wonder if the tax return issue isn't a too-early hit from the Obama campaign. It's definitely going to peter out in not too long.
However, the "you didn't build that" meme from Obama is already getting steam, and is going to snowball on him further, because it points to a critical issue of the economy in a more straightforward way.
Dan Abrams| 7.19.12 @ 11:34AM
Since Obama pretty much makes up his own law these days, the next time I am defending a patent infringement case, I am going to plead the affirmative defense of "my client did not infringe -- somebody else made that happen."
Oldefarte| 7.19.12 @ 4:46PM
Even though Obama's words did not surprise or shock me [as I've always understood who/what he is/isn't], the initial public outrage over this is startling to me. Did the American people not understand his philosophy and his socialistic leanings? Apparently so! Well then, WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!!!