How Bain Undercuts Romney's Narrative

By trying to avoid responsibility for Bain Capital's outsourcing, Romney makes it harder to pin blame for the economy on Obama.

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Is Bain a problem for Mitt Romney's narrative? Andrew Sullivan says yes:

Romney, in other words, doesn't have a leg to stand on. He has been running a campaign against the "Obama economy" insisting that the president own every single month he has been in office in order to condemn his economic management all the more - despite at least a first year in which Obama cannot really be held responsible for the fallout of an economic collapse he inherited. So Romney insists on maximal responsibility for Obama and the economy.

Romney's attempt to evade responsibility undermines his core argument against Barack Obama. How can you say, on one hand, that Obama is responsible for every job loss that has happened under his tenure-even if his policies haven't taken effect-and then on the other, deny responsibility for actions your company took when it was still under your ownership?

This, it seems, is the problem with flagrant dishonesty in a presidential campaign-it doesn't leave room to maneuver. Barack Obama's most recent ad was harsh and unfair, but the Romney campaign began the election season with an ad that was roundly condemned as dishonest and misleading. The Romney team is clearly angry with the tenor of Obama's campaign, but it isn't in a place to complain. As the election heats up and the stakes get higher, I expect this to become more of a problem.

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