You can tell Mitt Romney is having the worst week ever when late on a Friday afternoon his campaign dumps his 2011 Tax Return out to the press and runs for the hills.

379 pages of the intimate details of Mitt Romney’s financial health plus a summary of 20 years worth of tax returns were released Friday after a series of unfortunate events hit the Romney campaign like Mike Tyson hit Michael Spinks.

The past 10 days or so have seen:

• Ann Romney snapping at the Republican commentators who are back in hate mode with their candidate
• VP Candidate Paul Ryan being booed and heckled through his entire speech in front of the AARP convention.
• Three different message changes that failed to hold up to the controversy created by:
• A secret recording of Mitt Romney at a May fundraiser where he gave the impression that almost 50% of the American electorate were not worth his bother to court their vote
• And the exposure of the financial difficulties the Romney campaign is having despite the multiple month streak of fundraising wins
• And committing a foreign policy faux paux to the tune of issuing a statement about violence overseas before things really got violent

This is of course after the Republican National Convention where attendees on the convention floor threw peanuts at a Black woman and called her an animal, and Clint Eastwood talked to an empty chair.

Mitt absolutely needs this weekend to re-group.  Sadly for Mitt, the Sunday morning political shows, and the 24 hour news cycle does not afford one the opportunity to re-group, it only allows for a short nap before the hounds are back at the door.

Since Mitt has been running for political office, the press and his opponents have asked about his tax returns.    The American press has grown accustomed to getting documents and sifting through them looking for a story.

Tax returns are not legally required, but oddly enough it was Mitt Romney’s father George who opened the door.  During George Romney’s bid for President, he released 12 years of his tax returns to the press.  His logic was I want you to see who I am, how successful I’ve been, and for you to realize that it was not a fluke, it is rather a pattern of excellence.

Mitt on the other hand has been resistant to this idea.

Now in Mitt’s defense, it is none of my business and frankly I don’t care… or at least I did not until he made me care.

There is an old saying…..where there is smoke, there is fire.   Mitt has been doing to the I won’t give you my tax return dance for so long, he does not realize that his pants are on fire.

Mitt finally gave in and in what appears to be a desperate attempt to change the subject to anything else ANY MOTHERFUCKING THIS ELSE PLEASE! – gave us the long-awaited 2011 return.

*looks at the calendar*

oh.

Well since Romney was so nice to share, let’s flip through and see what jumps out at us shall we?

 

Let’s ignore just for a moment the off shore accounts, and multiple tax shelters that are foreign to Average Joe American.  In Mitt’s own words he is not qualified to be President. The tax talk begins at 2:12 of the above video.

That was back at the end of July, and that rate quoted to ABC News 13%, is what makes the returns of 2011 so … ummm ….. interesting.   Mitt would have paid under 10% in his taxes for 2011 had he taken all of the deductions available to him.

Let that sink in for a moment.

The man who wants to be President of the Untied States of America could have paid more to his church than to the US government in taxes.

Mitt has asked America to put him in the White House, yet his money goes to the Mormon Church.  Perhaps Mr. Romney should be running for the President of the Mormon church.

Or perhaps we should listen to that great American Harry Reid and his statement about the Romney tax returns:

“The information released today reveals that Mitt Romney manipulated one of the only two years of tax returns he’s seen fit to show the American people — and then only to ‘conform’ with his public statements. That raises the question: what else in those returns has Romney manipulated? …

“It’s also galling to see the creative accounting Mitt Romney applied to his own tax returns only days after learning of his insulting comments that seniors, soldiers and hard-working parents don’t pay enough taxes.”

 

Ann Romney was right, the more they release the more they are attacked by the press and the electorate, but

If the Romney’s can withstand the pressure of having Harry”That’s a clown question bro” Reid and MSNBC heckle them about tax returns, then how are we expected to trust them to handle the pressure of the White House and the Presidency?

Let’s get real here…. this is nothing compared to what will be on his plate should he defeat President Obama, yet Mitt is already tired, and irritable, and unable to maintain focus?

It gets harder from here Mr. Romney, you haven’t even seen the best the Obama campaign has to offer you.

Now about those offshore accounts.

It’s one thing for Bain Capital – you know that company that Romney wasn’t the CEO of because he retired retroactively – its one thing for Bain Capital to offer a multitude of tax shelters for its investors.  It is something else entirely for Mitt Romney to share those same complex and aggressive tax shelters all the while he criticizes Americans less affluent than him for not paying taxes.

It gives the impression that Mr. Romney thinks he has to pay SOOOOOOO much because those poor folks, those senior citizens, those active military men and women, those students, those families using mortgage and child deductions are not paying enough.

I suppose one could argue he is right —- I suppose.

It’s just that these loopholes, that Average Joe American uses to not pay federal income tax were in large part designed by Republicans.

Its just that these loopholes that Average Joe American uses to not pay federal income tax doesn’t stop Joe American from paying local, state, sales, real estate, and numerous other taxes.

To use Mr. Romney’s own words, perhaps it is time for him to take a little personal responsibility and fess up.  Just say, I’m rich and I like being rich, and I will do what I can to stay rich by keeping as much of my rich money in my own Swiss Bank Account pocket as I can.

We’d respect you more.

We might not vote for you…but we would respect you more.