Isn’t it annoying when you’re meticulously removing a Band-Aid from a wound and a bystander interjects that it’s easier if you just rip it off all at once?
Occasionally I am paid to be that bystander.
The good news about bad news is that the general public has a short memory. The bad news about bad news is that it’s hard to rip it off all at once. Politicians, and especially corporations, would rather stall, sugarcoat, or just avoid bad news.
This only multiplies bad news cycles. It also quickly becomes an issue of character or integrity. Remember, reporters are paid to report about the iceberg under the water.
Just take a look at Mitt Romney and his tax returns. I haven’t seen the polling, but I guarantee that any voter paying attention knows that Romney is thumbing his nose at the precedent of financial disclosure that his father helped nurture. At this point, and every point in the near future, this will be an issue that will haunt Romney.
It’s not even about what’s in the disclosures at this point, it’s transitioned into an issue about his character. What kind of man running for President is afraid to tell the American people about how he made his money? The imagined answer is likely far more damning than whatever offshore activity Romney is probably attempting to hide.
It’s a sideshow that only Mitt Romney can end.
