Mitt Romney Trips over the ”Bain” Mat

A champion of outsourcing, the investment fund created by the Republican candidate has destroyed jobs in the United States. The former businessman is trying to divert the conversation. Although he has never been a boxer, Barack Obama understands the concept of hitting where it hurts and stressing it. He’s applying this precisely on his opponent, Mitt Romney. Since the beginning of July 2012, the candidate for the Republican nomination has been the target of repeated messages that involve his past as a businessman at the head of the Bain Capital investment fund. Several TV commercials remind Americans that Romney has always preferred his own interests or those of its shareholders, regardless of the consequences on employment.

Those attacks are damaging for a candidate who relies heavily on economic issues. Part of the Romney campaign is organized around the theme of re-industrializing the United States. On several occasions, he has stated his policy to create “good American jobs.” However, a recent survey in Vanity Fair was a reminder that much of the management of Bain Capital “outsourced” the acquired companies – in other words, they encouraged their relocation, destroying jobs in United States.

In his defense, Mitt Romney says that major relocations took place after 1999, when he was not running the company anymore and had committed to the success of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. But if it is true that he wasn’t managing Bain Capital anymore (which he founded in 1984), the Boston Globe revealed in mid-July 2012 that he was still the sole owner until 2002, as evidenced by several documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In short, this doesn’t look good for Romney and contributes to weakening him against Barack Obama in an uncomfortable position. This is especially true since the former leader tries to avoid the conversation when it comes to approaching his career. For many observers of the political scene, Mitt Romney committed a grave mistake – if he doesn’t change his behavior, it could cost him the election.

Hidden Heritage

The first step for Romney would be to recognize the benefits of the global economy, according to a recent article in the Financial Times. The newspaper said such an attitude would allow him to justify both its past “relocations” and his desire to repatriate jobs on American soil, erasing any contradiction between his speech and political decisions made by Bain Capital. For now, this does not seem to be the option considered. Romney still refuses to take his past choices and continues to denounce Obama in his speeches as the “outsourcer in chief.”

This case adds to the continued silence of the Republican candidate on his $3 million of assets in Switzerland, other funds – estimated at around $30 million – placed in various tax havens and his refusal to publish his tax returns prior to 2010 (the year for which he already provided this document). Creating doubt about his assets is not likely to encourage voters to give him their votes. In the U.S., being rich is not a crime and is seen rather well. But hiding his wealth, particularly in countries that are among the most opaque on financial matters, is certainly a perilous choice. Unlike his opponent, Barack Obama understands that and continues to hit where it hurts.