Romney’s Evasive Character Unfit for Presidency

Filed in National by on July 16, 2012

That is the title of this intriguing article by Robert Creamer, published over at The Democratic Strategist. In it, he details the multiple things we have learned about Romney over the past few months in an argument to show that Romney is fundamentally unfit to be President. Go read the whole thing, because it is the entire argument that is interesting, not just these key bits:

Romney can dance around the issue, parse words, argue he gave up “management control” until he is blue in the face. But however he structured the decision making process at Bain Capital while he was also running the Olympics, he was ultimately in charge — and he was ultimately responsible for — and benefited mightily from its actions. In every business the buck stops with the CEO, Chairman, President and sole stockholder — it’s that simple.

Romney’s refusal to be held responsible for the actions of the company he owned — and for which he remained CEO, Chairman and President — says a lot about the kind of President he would be — and a lot more about his character.

This is a guy who plays by a different set of rules than ordinary mortals. And the last thing he wants to do is allow those ordinary mortals to see first hand how he did what he did by disclosing his income tax returns from the years he was active at Bain.

Mitt Romney is the kind of guy who is always happy to bask in the glow of success, but is never willing to take responsibility for failure.

(ed. This is pretty much American CEO behavior, right here.)

Romney may believe that the President of Bain Capital didn’t have responsibility for the company’s actions — but someone should explain to him that the President of United States is absolutely responsible for the work of every Executive Department, whether or not he is directly involved in every decision. The President of the United States is responsible for the success or failure of every military mission. He is responsible for preventing recession — for saving the auto industry even when it is unpopular — for making the tough decisions and living with their consequences. When you’re President of the United States, you can’t say, “Oh I had no responsibility because I left the day-to-day decisions of the Defense Department to others.” Do we really want a President that refuses to take responsibility for the actions of a company for which he was CEO, President, Chairman and sole stockholder?

Seriously, go read the entire thing. It strikes me that the Obama team have already taken this to heart and you can see some of this Can You Trust him in their own messaging. Probably pretty sweet coming from the man accused of being a secret Kenyan.

And I’m posting this because I’m not sure anyone but Xstryker clicked the link yesterday, but this picture is just hysterical:

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"You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas." -Shirley Chisholm

Comments (23)

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  1. puck says:

    Somewhere John Kerry is snickering into his French cuffs.

  2. puck says:

    I love the No Apology photo. Something tells me Republicans will use this to double down on their “uppity” dog-whistle. But the more Obama is seen as a winner, the fewer people will be able to hear it.

  3. Jason330 says:

    On some levels (effete awkwardness, inability to get the story straight) Romney is the John Kerry of Republicans. I’m still shocked they picked for a mid-term challenge when they had some real fire-breathing true believers to choose from.

  4. puck says:

    Sometimes I wonder if Romney would do better to throw the tea party under the bus and come out as a Republican moderate. He could probably win over a lot of independents and Dems by triangulating some of Obama’s positions. Could there be a silent majority of sane Republicans out there in the electorate? Of course he’d be making his credibility problems worse so I guess this is just a hypothetical.

  5. socialistic ben says:

    Jason, your 674 level 3D chess-quiddich game is starting to some together.

  6. jason330 says:

    Since he became a conservative retroactively during the primary, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if he now became a moderate.

  7. jason330 says:

    @SB – I think this is only phase 1. Team Obama knows that it is going up against a BAZILLION dollars worth of negative ads from wingnut pacs, so I get the feeling that they are leading Romney into some kind of trap.

  8. socialistic ben says:

    Puck, if Romney had the guts to ditch the tea party, i might vote for him. I mean, I wouldnt…. not at all, but you get the point.

  9. cassandra_m says:

    I don’t think anyone would be surprised if he now became a moderate.

    If Rmoney becomes a moderate, it will only be because the media gives him that label. Just like he can’t nominate a pro-choice VP, he is going to get all kinds of heck from his right if he tries to moderate from the fairly extreme right wing stuff he has given lip service to in order to get the extreme right wing support.

    In fact, I would specifically look for the media to start point to some of this extreme stuff as “moderate” just so they can have their narratives of a candidate moderating for the General.

  10. jason330 says:

    “In fact, I would specifically look for the media to start point to some of this extreme stuff as “moderate” just so they can have their narratives of a candidate moderating for the General.”

    Great point. It is sickening to know the future sometimes.

  11. puck says:

    To become a moderate, Romney would have to renounce big parts of the Ryan budget. I can see him distancing himself from the tea party in principle, and he might even benefit from that. But I don’t see him taking on House Republicans on specific legislation. He’d have to tap-dance like Sammy Davis Jr. (I just like that image).

    Anyway I am pleasantly surprised by the performance of the media on Bain-gate. I was expecting a Bain whitewash and a bigger counter-attack on Obama. Instead we are getting fair and balanced. I guess nobody really likes Romney.

  12. jason330 says:

    Even Romney views himself as a Republican version of John Kerry.

    “Romney’s argument on not releasing his tax returns – if it’s good enough for John Kerry, it’s good enough for me – is so self-defeating that it hardly even matters that he also gets the facts wrong.

    Hard to see how a John Kerry defense works for anyone, especially a GOP nominee from dreaded Massachusetts.”

  13. Delaware Dem says:

    I guess it dawned on Mittens that his campaign was obviously lying about John Kerry, because, this morning, on Fox News, Mittens revised his excuse to say that Teresa Heinz Kerry did not release her own tax returns. So if a rich lady who did not run for President cannot release her tax returns, that means a rich man who is running for President can do the same.

    What a fucking coward this Mitt Romney is. Hiding behind Teresa Heinz Kerry.

  14. anon says:

    Romney isn’t ditching the tea party. He jammed Mike Castle into an aisle where he couldn’t be seen and pandered to Christine O’Donnell at his appearance in moderate Wilmington. Republican candidates think the tea party is there way into office. Just ask Charlie Copeland why a brown, tea smelling substance is stuck to his nose.

  15. Rustydils says:

    I am sure that 100 percent of liberals think romney is unfit to be president, just as 100 percent of conservatives think obama is unfit to be president. However unfit he might be, romney is still going to be president. P.s. Tune in to sheriff joes live press conference tomorrow afternoon, live streaming

  16. socialistic ben says:

    Rusty, I honestly cant wait!

  17. Rockland says:

    I smell the stench of desperation.

  18. puck says:

    Give Rusty a break; he couldn’t sleep last night and wet the bed twice.

  19. Geezer says:

    The character flaw the public is noticing is the whining. Demanding an apology from Obama over the Bain attacks looks weak and passive. Is that the guy you want sitting down across the table from Vladimir Putin?

  20. Rockland says:

    Oops!… Obama’s Top Bundler Jonathan Lavine Was In Charge of Bain During GST Steel Layoffs

  21. cassandra_m says:

    UPDATE: Alex Stanton, a spokesperson for Bain Capitol, does not dispute that Lavine was on the board of Ampad, but insists that he had nothing to do with the workers being laid off in Marion, Indiana.
    “Jonathan Lavine was not at Bain Capital when Ampad was acquired by the firm, and was not involved on the investment during the challenging situation at the Marion plant. The assertion he had any involvement with those events is totally false,” said Stanton in a statement.

  22. Rockland says:

    Star of a Pro-Obama Ad Isn’t a Big Obama Fan
    http://www.theatlanticwire.com/polit…ama-fan/54690/