July 16, 2012--President Obama Should Apologize If . . .

Mitt Romney has been running from network to network decrying what he claims is an unfair attack by the Obama campaign on his record at Bain Capital and how he invested his hundreds of millions. He even has gone so far as to say that these attacks are "not presidential" and thus Obama owes him a personal apology.

I agree--if the Obama campaign has its facts wrong the president should apologize.

Since it is obvious that Romney was not telling the truth when he testified that he severed his involvement with Bain after allegedly leaving the firm; nor is it true that he paid taxes equivalent to what he would have owed if he had not invested tens of millions in the Cayman Islands; and it is a fact that during his tenure as CEO of Bain Capital thousands of jobs we shipped overseas; for these reasons and more, there is still lots of political hay for Obama to make.

So here is what I suggest the president do:

Go on live TV and say something like the following--

I know what it's like to be unfairly accused of breaking the law. Recall all the tumult about where I was born. It got so out of control that I authorized the release of my full Hawaiian birth certificate. Though there are still some who think it is a forgery even most of my political opponents are satisfied that I am a native-born American citizen.

Now there is this flap about Mitt Romney's years at Bain Capital and how he invested his money. There is particular concern about the appropriateness of his having tens of millions in personal wealth in off-shore investments and Swiss bank accounts.

He, like me when it came to where I was born, denies any of this is true or relevant to the presidential campaign. In truth, I too, have raised these kinds of concerns about the governor's business practices and investments.

So here's what I suggest--like me when I released my full birth certificate, Governor Romney should do a version of the same thing: authorize the release of all relevant Bain and personal financial documents. Let experts take a close look at them and after that offer an objective assessment.

If, as Governor Romney claims there is nothing to be concerned about, that everything he did was aboveboard and legal, I will come back on TV and offer him the apology he feels he deserves. 

If, on the other hand, issues remain that are of concern, I will continue to press for more information and fuller disclosure of the facts. And I will continue to raise questions as to whether or not these practices are appropriate for a potential president of the United States.