There are various kinds of businesses that are required to file public disclosure documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. IANAL, but I have been a corporate officer in a publicly traded company. I know enough about SEC filings and the consequences of getting one wrong that whenever my name was attached to one, I didn’t sign off on it until it had been vetted by someone competent in securities law and SEC regulations. Now, if an engineer like me is that careful, how do you think that a guy with an MBA and a law degree (both from Harvard) would approach such filings?
Well, he could carelessly sign anything put in front of him. Or he could rely on his own expertise. Or he could seek and take the advice of the lawyers he’s paying to advise him. Looking at Mitt Romney, his accomplishments, and his apparent personal character, which of these do you suppose he chose? I’d bet on the third choice.
I believe that when he left Bain Capital for the Winter Olympics, he intended to take a limited leave of absence—and that when he got to Utah and found the extent of the problems, he wound up realizing that he had, in effect, changed jobs. That required him ti disengage from Bain, but that was a long, complicated process. During the changeover, some documents filed with the SEC had to reflect actual ownership and legal control regardless of who was really doing what. As my late father, who was a lawyer, used to say, “It doesn’t have to make sense; it’s a government regulation.”
I don’t agree with everything Mitt Romney believes. I don’t agree with everything he says. But he strikes me as an honorable man, as someone who is trustworthy. The Bain attacks are coming from the campaign of a man who makes promises with expiration dates, who has no real world business experience, and who clearly didn’t vet the charges against Mr. Romney with proper experts. <sarcasm> Indeed, the basis of the charges stem from reporting by such well-know business journals as Mother Jones. </sarcasm>
The bottom line is that Mr. Romney is not a felon, but the Obama campaign seems full of people who are either massively careless and/or liars.
When he was elected, Mr. Obama wasn’t ready for prime time. He’s had three-and-a-half years of on the job training, and he’s blown the audition. He never should have given up his day job. But then, he never had one.
Is it November yet?
