Donald Trump likes to boast of the billions he has made in his business career — somehow managing to hold onto his wealth despite (or, rather, because of) multiple bankruptcy filings. Companies or properties bearing his name sought Chapter 11 protection in 1991, 1992, 2004, and again in 2009. 

The Donald happily admits to using bankruptcy laws to “pare debt.” In an interview on ABC news in April 2011, he told George Stephanopoulos: “We’ll have this company. We’ll throw it into a (bankruptcy) chapter. We’ll negotiate with the banks. We’ll make a fantastic deal. You know, it’s like on ‘The Apprentice.’ It’s not personal. It’s just business.”

And to think that this paragon of business ethics (quoting the Mafia don in The Godfather) would suggest that John McCain had himself to blame for being captured after his plane was shot down in the Vietnam War — saying “I like people who aren’t captured.”

In tomorrow night’s debate, someone should ask this self-described business hero whether he prefers businessmen who aren’t shy about stiffing their creditors to those who will go to great lengths to honor their debts.