bain of his existence

Mitt Romney Feels the Obama Campaign Owes Him an Apology [Updated]

JANESVILLE, WI - JUNE 18: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event at Monterey Mills on June 18, 2012 in Janesville, Wisconsin. Mr. Romney continues hs campaign swing through battle ground states as he battles President Barack Obama for votes. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Photo: Joe Raedle/2012 Getty Images

The usually somewhat press-unfriendly Mitt Romney took to the airwaves Friday night, doing five separate TV interviews in which he aggressively stressed his claim that he was only “associated with” — not actively managing — Bain Capital after February 1999 (when he took charge of the 2002 Olympics), despite being listed as the firm’s CEO and sole shareholder on its SEC filings.

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I was the owner of an entity that is filing those information — that information, but I had no role whatsoever in the management of Bain Capital after February of 1999, not that that would have been a problem, to have said that I was with the firm beyond that, but I simply wasn’t,” Romney said on CNN.

He also repeatedly said that the Obama campaign owed him an apology for suggesting that he misrepresented his job on the documents, which would be a felony. 

He also repeatedly said that the Obama campaign owed him an apology for suggesting that he misrepresented his job on the documents, which would be a felony. 

It looks like he’ll be waiting a while for that apology. Just this morning, the Obama campaign released yet another ad focused on Romney’s time at Bain. The video features the candidate’s own vocal stylings (a performance of “America, the Beautiful” performed at a fund-raiser earlier this year) played over quotes from news reports saying that his business “shipped jobs to Mexico and China,” and that he “outsourced jobs to India” while governor of Massachusetts. And, for good measure, it reminds the public that Romney is in possession of legal but off-putting rich people things such as a Swiss bank account and “tax havens” in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. 

The ad seems particularly well timed when you consider the other takeaway from last night’s Romney media blitz: his statement that he has no plans to publicly release his tax returns beyond the two-years’ worth that are already out there.

I know there will always be calls for more. People always want to get more,” Mr. Romney said on CNN. “And, you know, we’re putting out what is required plus more that is not required. And those are the two years that people are going to have. And that’s — that’s all that’s necessary for people to understand something about my finances.”

Looks like it’s up to the Obama campaign to fill in any public gaps in understanding for him. 

Romney Feels Obama Owes Him an Apology [Updated]