Every professional observer from Bill Kristol leftward has had his or her mouth agape at Mitt Romney's obstinate refusal to release more tax returns and the relentless whining about the unfairness of the Obama camp's commentary on the Bain Capital SEC filings. Two quick observations:
First, the tax returns must really be explosive for Mitt to take the heat he's taking for not releasing them. What would they show? Shorting auto manufacturers' stock while writing columns saying "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt"? Other bets against US businesses? Even more accounts socked away in tax havens? Contributions to controversial organizations? (Planned Parenthood? The John Birch Society? With Mitt's track record it could be anything). It will be interesting to see if he can stick to his guns on this one.
Second, the whining about the Bain Capital attacks. Most people realized, even as they were occurring, that the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry were untrue and unfair. But Kerry's reaction (much the same as Romney's reaction now, even though the allegations against Romney actually have a lot of substance) made many people wonder just how a President Kerry would stand up to the treachery and dishonesty of a Kim Il-Sung (or Jong-Il, I can never keep them straight), an Ahmadinejad, or even a Putin. I think Kerry would have been fine, but it did make me wonder. And it's doing the same thing now: Is Romney's hand steady enough to hold the tiller? You never hear Obama whine about the hatred directed towards him. He just lifts his jaw and fixes his gaze.
All politics aside, does Mitt have the steadiness we need in these perilous times?