Mitt Romney fails his father's standard

Mitt Romney had a terrible week, what with the media all in his face about the conflicting evidence around his tenure at Bain. Team Romney scrambled to do damage control and try to change the subject. Mr. Romney himself did a whirlwind interview blitz on all the major TV stations Friday night to firmly declare he did not have managerial relations with that corporation in the time period being discussed.

Of course, most of the questions could be easily resolved if Mitt Romney would release more tax returns. But forget that:

“I know there will always be calls for more. People always want to get more. And you know, we’re putting out what is required plus more than that is not required,” Romney said.

Referring to the 2010 and 2011 returns, Romney could not be more clear about his plans. “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,” he added. [[transcripts and more here]

Actually it’s one year and one estimated return. Rich people amend their returns many times. So Mitt Romney is effectively saying he’s only willing to make the barest minimum disclosure required to show the voters who he really is, completely failing the ethical standard set by his own father.

Ironically, Mitt’s father wasn’t legally obligated to release anything either. George Romney released his tax returns at a media request. George Romney was only asked for one return, but instead released 12 years worth because he was proud to stand on his long term record as a citizen and businessman. It’s a shame his son, Mitt Romney is afraid to live up to his father’s standard.