Opinion: Romney Should Not Be The Candidate On The Defense
As governors throughout the United States gathered for the Governors’ Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia this past week, the Republican governors shared a common concern with many Republicans throughout the nation. The concern is that Mitt Romney has been continually put on the defensive instead of President Barack Obama.
Somehow, the information that Americans have asked Obama since his last presidential election campaign has taken a back seat to the President’s demand for information about Romney. That doesn’t make sense. Obama marches on without transparency on many issues but yet demands transparency against his challenger. Obama, being the man in the White House, should have revealed more information about himself by now – especially since he is constantly criticizing his opponent for doing the same thing, withholding information.
Some say that Romney simply ought to reveal answers to all the questions President Obama and the Democrats have asked of him. Others believe that Romney ought to remain as non-transparent as the President and make a deal with the President. For every requested piece of information that Obama demands of Romney, Romney should demand a piece of information from Obama.
The Republicans want the current sense of defensiveness placed on Romney concerning his finances and his employment dates at Bain Capital – his former employer – to end. Romney’s party leaders want the campaign to move on to the point where the differences between Romney and Obama will emerge as political candidates. Time spent on Romney-specific topics is seen as Obama stalling for time while diverting the media and the campaign from asking questions about himself.
Specifically, in recent weeks, the Obama reelection campaign has placed Romney on the defensive regarding the limited release of his finances – even though Romney has released what is required by law as a presidential candidate. Obama has also turned the tables on Romney’s past business record at Bain Capital – when it can obviously be said that Romney at least has a past business record of which Obama doesn’t.
Instead of Obama cornering Romney on his unreleased tax forms, the Republican Party is suggesting that Romney put the information out there – but only after Obama finally reveals some information about himself. After all the controversy about Obama not releasing his academic transcripts in the last election, those records still remain unreleased. Obama has still refused to show America the college and university transcripts which voters have been waiting to see since before he was elected.
People still aren’t clear as to how Obama ended up at Harvard without seeing the trail of academic records prior to his presence there. Due to his questionable past as being a Kenyan, it is confusing as to how he was allowed in the schools he allegedly attended and how he progressed to Harvard. There are many questions on Obama’s educational front of which the answers are still under lock and key because Obama doesn’t want information to be known.
What is disturbingly odd is that Obama has the audacity to continually demand records of one type or another to be released by Romney when Obama still refuses to release his own records which would answer four-year-old questions about himself.
Romney could also be pressuring Obama into finally answering questions and releasing documents regarding Obama’s connection to ACORN. The president expects Americans to leave those questionable past actions of his own to remain unanswered while he has the audacity to continually question his opponent’s leadership at Bain Capital. When it comes to the candidates’ pasts, Obama – not Romney - should be on the defensive. Obviously, questions about Obama have been unanswered for a longer period of time than Romney’s.
Also disturbing is that Obama keeps criticizing Romney for his past success achieved as a CEO of a huge business and for being wealthy as if it’s wrong for a successful and wealthy person to run for president in the United States. Since when can’t a successful businessman and wealthy person run for president? Since Obama alleges it’s not right? That’s nonsense. More than nonsense, it’s asinine for Americans to accept Obama’s denouncement of a successful person becoming president. One has the right to be successful and wealthy in this country whether our president thinks so or not.
Mitt Romney has every right to turn the question around and ask Obama what his problem is with success and wealth. Obama has somehow made Romney look guilty of doing something wrong simply because Romney has been extremely successful and wealthy.
Obviously, there is nothing wrong with being successful and living the American dream if you obtained it legally – which no one is questioning that Mitt Romney has done.
It is proper for Mitt Romney to confront Obama and agree to release his additional financial reports if Obama releases his academic transcripts. No academic transcripts – no more financial data. And like Obama, Romney needs to remind Americans daily that Obama is refusing to release the documents if he doesn’t. Romney needs to join Obama in putting his opponent on the defensive. Romney also needs to agree to release more information regarding Bain Capital if Obama agrees to release additional information on ACORN which reveals his relation to those questionable individuals and activities involved with that age-old, Chicago-politician scandal.
Obama’s hands must be much dirtier than Romney’s when it comes to unreleased data that could harm a presidential candidate, or Obama would have released his information four years ago. All that the unreleased data by Romney could do is show how extremely successful and wealthy he has been. In current America, success and wealth have somehow become bad traits because President Obama says it is in reference to Romney. It is the bulk of the class warfare Obama has created in America. The truth is that success and wealth are excellent characteristics for any hard-working American to possess, even a president.
About Scott Paulson
Scott Paulson writes political commentary for Examiner.com and teaches English at a community college in the Chicago area. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.
