ROMNEY SELF-DESTRUCTING

Refusal to release tax returns on top of other negatives – wealth, Bain Capital, wooden campaign style – spell doom in November

I watched Barack and Michelle Obama being interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning. The president really came across good. I’ve watched Mitt Romney getting interviewed and he doesn’t come across nearly as good. On the campaign trail Obama appears to be relaxed while Romney appears stiff, or wooden as some describe him.

In short, Obama is likable, Romney is not. Conservative columnist George Will says that in modern history, with the exception of Richard Nixon, the most likable of the two presidential candidates has always been elected, regardless of what the issues were.

At a time when the middle class is hurting, being wealthy is not a plus. The pictures of Romney vacationing at his New Hampshire summer mansion do not help his image. He would have been well advised to vacation at Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon – vacation spots that the middle class can identify with. And the photo showing Romney atop a jet-ski is being compared to the disastrous photo of Michael Dukakis riding a tank.

Capital venturists are very unpopular at this time. That is why the Obama campaign has been hammering Romney unmercifully over his ownership of Bain Capital. Because that takes the focus off of the economy where Obama is weak, his campaign will continue the Bain onslaught against Romney all the way until the day of the election.

It certainly does not help Romney when he has offshore bank accounts and takes advantage of loopholes in the tax code where he ends up paying taxes at a rate of only 14 percent. The middle class pays a much higher tax rate and does not have offshore bank accounts either.

Worst of all, Romney has only released his 2010 and 2011 tax returns. He refuses to release any other prior tax returns. George Will thinks this is terrible mistake on Romney’s part. When John McCain ran for president, he released 23 of his tax returns. The public can’t help but think that Romney is hiding something by his refusal to release any more of his tax returns.

Romney is self-destructing and it sure looks like he won’t be able to win in November, even if he has Jesus Christ on the ticket as his vice-president.