David Corn: “A Case Of Romnesia”

Mitt Romney “has adopted a flexible attitude towards his personal history.” In 1997, for example, Romney proclaimed, “I longed to serve in Vietnam.” But he kept seeking, and getting, deferments.

As the Associated Press recently reported, Romney, while at Stanford in 1965, sought a deferment as a college student. Then for two-and-half years, as he served as a Mormon missionary in France, he maintained a deferment “as a minister of religion or divinity student.” After that deferment expired, Romney again received another academic studies deferment.

Romney told of how he “risked a steady job to join with some friends to start a business.”  But there was no risk at all.

He so impressed Bill Bain…that Bain asked Romney to oversee the creation of a private equity off-shoot, Bain Capital, which would look to buy up troubled companies, put them in order, and resell them for a profit.

And Romney said no. As recounted in The Real Romney (an essential read for anyone looking to understand the GOP candidate), Romney “saw the opportunity, of course, but he also saw risks.” With five kids at home, he already had a comfortable set-up: great job at Bain & Company, money in the bank. He’d have to kick in some of the start-up funds, and he didn’t want to put his present salary and financial resources on the line. That is, he didn’t leap at the chance to follow his supposed dream of building “a business from the ground up.” His first instinct was to play it safe and not be a daring entrepreneur.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.