Has Mitt Romney been 'vetted' in 2012 the way Obama was in 2008?
OPINION - If in 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama had refused to release his tax returns, we would not currently be in a run-up to President Obama’s re-election because there would not be a President Obama...
How many national news stories have been run or written about Mitt Romney’s religious background? Have there been many cable news stories exploring Mr. Romney’s time as a Mormon bishop, or who his spiritual leaders or advisers have been? Have any of Mr. Romney’s political opponents written or aired “take-down” pieces about the Mormon Church or the historic connections between Mormonism and polygamy — including the polygamous connection between Romney’s family and Mexico — or any of the scandals that have rocked the Mormon faith over the years?
I don’t allude to these non-existent stories in order to incite the media to covering them – they are not important or relevant to Romney’s campaign for the presidency. What happens to be relevant here is the degree to which Obama was subjected to these kinds of inquiries, cynicism, and general disbelief and the degree to which Romney – who certainly faces ongoing questions about his own veracity – does not appear to face the same tenacity when it comes to the base level questions about whether or not he is “one of us.”
For one thing, most of “us” pay taxes. Meanwhile, the fact that at every financial turn — records from his tenure at Bain Capital, key documents from his time as governor of Massachusetts, financial records from his time as chairman of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, and now his tax returns — Romney has been able to successfully deflect sustained media attention and investigation into his monetary life is a powerful signal that the playing field for candidates Obama and Romney has not been level.
Mitt Romney has been given a pass of sorts by the media and even his political opponents — save Harry Reid’s recent invective — for the issues that matter most to his own estimation of why/how he would be a better president for our great nation. If he is so much better a money manager than our current president, he should show us the money. The veiled nature of Romney’s financial dealings is simply untenable at this point – less than 100 days from the presidential election process. And the media have allowed him to come this far relatively uninterrupted.
Placed in the context of recent presidential history — consider Bush 43’s alleged drug use, failed ownership of the Texas Rangers, etc., or the extent to which Obama’s nationality has been called into question — the public vetting of Mitt Romney has come up short. The real question to ask is why.
Dr. James B. Peterson is the director of Africana Studies and an associate professor of English at Lehigh University. Follow James on Twitter at @DrJamesPeterson
