Did Mitt Romney run Bain after 1999? Will voters care if he did?
Did Mitt Romney run Bain Capital after 1999? Will voters care if he did, or didn鈥檛?
These questions arise due to recent news reports on Bain Capital SEC filings indicating that Mr. Romney retained control over the firm for years after his announced 1999 departure to run the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. The Boston Globe reported on these documents this week, following stories by and other journalists earlier in the month.
This might seem like political hair-splitting 鈥� what鈥檚 three years, after all? But Bain Capital, during those years, was involved in investments in outsourcing firms and several job-killing bankruptcies. Romney doesn鈥檛 want to be tied to those events 鈥� something the Obama campaign is trying to do.
鈥淓ither Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature, was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], which is a felony, or he is misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments,鈥� said Stephanie Cutter, President Obama's deputy campaign manager, on Thursday in a conference call with reporters.
In the past, independent journalistic fact-finding organizations have found that the Obama team鈥檚 attempts to link Romney to Bain鈥檚 outsourcing investments are a stretch at best and deceptive at worst. They say nothing in the new revelations changes that judgment.
Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler called the SEC documents 鈥渞elatively unimportant,鈥� and noted that Romney filed a federal financial disclosure form that states he had no active role in Bain during the years in question. A misstatement on the disclosure form would indeed be a felony, .
鈥淭hat filing would seem to trump these SEC documents,鈥� he concluded.
At FactCheck.org, a University of Pennsylvania law professor鈥檚 opinion that there is no basis for the Obama camp鈥檚 claim that Romney committed a felony on the SEC papers.
鈥淣one of the SEC filings show that Romney was anything but a passive, absentee owner during that time, as both Romney and Bain have long said,鈥� writes Jackson. 鈥淚t should not surprise anyone that Romney retained certain titles while he was working out the final disposition of his ownership.鈥�
Does this mean the White House will have to abandon this line of attack? Ha! Haven鈥檛 paid much attention to this election cycle, have you?
The Obama team may believe that forcing Romney to explain why he wasn鈥檛 running Bain after 1999 is almost as good as actually proving that he was running Bain after 1999. That鈥檚 because every day the word 鈥淏ain鈥� shows up in headlines, it reminds voters of Romney鈥檚 venture capital past 鈥� and it鈥檚 a day when job loss numbers didn鈥檛 dominate the national political conversation.
鈥淪ure, Romney鈥檚 name appeared on Bain鈥檚 SEC filings. But he didn鈥檛 make Bain鈥檚 decisions. He only benefited financially from them,鈥� writes聽. 鈥淣ow you see why the Obama campaign thinks it can drag this out over weeks and months.鈥�
But here鈥檚 the not-little-secret about the 2012 campaign: So far, the daily stuff doesn鈥檛 seem to matter. Bain, bad job reports, the US Supreme Court decision on health care, Mr. Obama鈥檚 comment that the private-sector economy is 鈥渄oing fine鈥� 鈥� there鈥檚 little evidence any of that has moved the polls one iota, according to , RealClearPolitics senior election analyst.
Since the end of the Republican primary season, virtually all major polls of registered voters have shown Obama slightly ahead of the presumptive GOP nominee. Virtually all surveys of likely voters have the candidates in a dead heat.
鈥淭his is a long way of pointing out that the various events in the campaign that journalists have focused on ... have done almost nothing to move this race,鈥� writes Mr. Trende.
Obama鈥檚 attacks on Romney haven鈥檛 been able disqualify the former Massachusetts governor for the presidency in the minds of voters 鈥� particularly white working-class voters, a group for whom Obama holds little appeal. Meanwhile, Romney鈥檚 focus on job losses has ignored the fact that the economy isn鈥檛 terrible. It isn鈥檛 good, but it isn鈥檛 horrendous at this point, either.
鈥淥verall, we just haven鈥檛 seen the type of event that would cause this campaign to break open one way or the other. If I had to bet, given the overall dynamics of the campaigns, I鈥檇 say we won鈥檛 see much net movement until the end,鈥� writes Trende.
