Excellent points on tax returns, etc., Jonah. On Romney seeming unprepared for these attacks, I think part of that can be attributed to the fact that he’s not really a natural politician. I have a hard time seeing Mitch Daniels ever spending time on nice watercraft in the middle of a hard-fought presidential campaign. Or seeing Chris Christie ever opening a Swiss bank account. Or Paul Ryan saying that he’s not worried about the very poor. These are the kind of things that people who have been around public life for a long time don’t typically say or do. Now, Romney has many things going for him — he’s very smart and disciplined, he’s a talented manager, and he has a superb temperament. He’s a profoundly decent man. His private-sector experience has genuinely been enriching. But I suspect there’s always going to be a little political tone-deafness there. As for not defending Bain more strongly on the merits, I think that goes to a certain lack of ideological self-confidence, i.e., any long-time movement conservative might be more comfortable defending Bain in the public arena than the guy who made it his life’s work.

About the Author
Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.
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