In a blog entry at the American Prospect, Jamelle Bouie checks in on a poll that asked respondents about two Mitt Romney controversies: his record with Bain Capital and his tax returns. While neither result was good, the ongoing fight over his taxes has done more damage.
I didn't mention this in my previous post, but in addition to the aforementioned questions, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal asked respondents about the recent controversies over Bain Capital and Mitt Romney's tax returns to gage whether they affected support for the Republican nominee. Neither result was good. Here's the first question:
Has what you have seen, read, or heard about Mitt Romney's previous business experience managing a firm that specializes in buying, restructuring, and selling companies made you feel … more positive or more negative about him, not made much difference in your opinion or do you not know enough about this to have an opinion at this time?
Twenty-five percent said it made them feel more positive, 28 percent more negative, and 27 percent said it made no difference. When you remember that Romney has made this his chief qualification for the presidency, it speaks to the failure of his campaign to effectively rebut the charges. At best, Bain Capital is a non-factor for Romney, and for a significant number of people, it's a detriment.
The ongoing fight over his tax returns has done even more damage to the former Massachusetts governor.
Read Jamelle Bouie's entire piece at the American Prospect.
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