Misdirection is an old campaign tactic, and that's what's going on here. Of course it temporarily helps Obama, that's why he and his campaign are doing it. It often works, too. There is just one catch. Almost all misdirection is based on bs. If you do it too much, it can backfire and ruin your own place. We'll see what happens here.
I know some won't like this, but this tactic by the Obama campaign gets a thumbs down from me. Maybe it will effect some voters in a close election. But, personally, even if the allegations are in the strictest sense "true," I don't give a damn. So what if Romney was still the CEO of Bain into 2001 or whatever and signed, as he would have had to, some papers authorizing the company's investments? If it's meant to peg Romney as an outsourcer, all Romney has to do is point back to U.S. trade deals that have been made in the past three years. Show me a politician who doesn't really support outsourcing and I'll show you a politician that doesn't get either major party's nomination. If it's meant to focus on one investment that might turn off social conservatives enough to stay home on election day, I really, really doubt that will work this year.
I always get a little sick watching these kinds of fights, common and predictable as they are. National elections are opportunities to have national conversations about how best to solve the country's problems. But, very often, the winners are the ones who can most successfully drown out that conversation by constructing a distorted picture of their opponent. It's a crappy precedent, and I don't like it when anybody uses it. Boo.
The problem is that Romney is running on a campaign based on being a "job creator" at Bain & Capital while at the same time emphasizing very tough talk on trade and outsourcing for a Republican. He can't tow these lines when there's ample evidence to the contrary that a. his experience at Bain netted few jobs and was, for the most part, very shady b. he participated in outsourcing himself. Romney's campaign is dishonest to the core and it doesn't pain me to see Obama paint it as such.
What is your opinion of the controversy surrounding Romney's personal finances? While it is more of the same and focuses on ad hominem attacks that are unrelated to the policy dilemmas, at the very least it brings up the unfairness of our tax system (and income inequality) to light for the average voter.
