Monday, January 23, 2012

The "Bain" of Romney's Existence

As I read article after article about Mitt Romney and his time at Bain Capital, I continue to wonder why this story has become such a real problem for his candidacy. I think that the main mistake he is making here is that he is, and has been, on the defensive about this particular part of his past. Yes, he has done the right thing by blasting his opponents that see a problem with this work as anti-capitalists. But rather than just explaining his career there openly, Romney has exclaimed that he feels it is "strange, on a stage like this with Republicans, having to describe how private equity and venture capital work." I think the biggest concern for Republican supporters of Romney right now is that he is not even well-prepared to answer questions about himself; if he can't handle the campaign, how can we expect him to run a country? And better yet, how can he even win the Republican nomination if he continues to allow people to hesitate about his biggest strength, his business experience? I guess we will have to wait and see if Romney can bounce back from these attacks or if he continues to lose momentum after Gingrich's win in South Carolina. 

1 comment:

Dylan Wulderk said...

You're absolutely right--Romney has turned minor hiccups into real problems. His business record is something to run on, but he needs to spin it better than he has so far. I do think this is going to haunt him though. I read the Politico article on it, and I think the beginning pointed out the biggest problem. People will see him as out of touch. And a certain Democratic senator I worked for has been trying to get this picture to go viral. If (when) it does, it's only going to make matters worse for him:

http://www.democratsenators.org/o/19/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=332