Mitt Romney tax return poses a challenge: how to talk about his wealth

With the release of the Mitt Romney tax return, which showed nothing illegal, the worst may be over for the candidate, but GOP analysts say he needs to develop a better message about his money.

The release of Mitt Romney?s tax returns Tuesday comes at a risky moment for the mega-wealthy Republican presidential candidate.

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Mr. Romney has been sinking in polls of GOP voters ? in part, because he behaved so uncomfortably and indecisively in debates last week over questions about putting out his tax returns. Now that he has released two years? worth ? 2010 and an estimate for 2011 ? the worst may be over.

Nothing illegal or surprising has emerged. He had already revealed that he paid a low effective rate (about 15 percent), that he had accounts in foreign countries (on which he paid US taxes), and that he donated generously to the Mormon Church.

Democrats argue that Romney needs to reveal far more than just two years? of returns. Some want to see returns going all the way back to his days as CEO of Bain Capital, a private equity firm that he co-founded in 1984 and left in 1999. And if Romney manages to win the GOP nomination, the specter of Bain, and the vast wealth it afforded Romney, will continue to hover over his candidacy.

But for that to matter, he needs to reach the nomination. His immediate task, heading into the crucial Florida primary on Jan. 31, is to put the tax-return episode behind him and develop a better message about his wealth, Republican analysts say.

?The real challenge for Romney is not the size of his bank account or the numbers in his tax return,? says Dan Schnur, communications director of the McCain campaign in 2000. ?He needs to figure out a way to talk about his money in a way that isn?t so uncomfortable and so defensive.?

Voters know that he?s wealthy and that?s not necessarily a problem in itself, says Mr. Schnur, who is neutral in the 2012 race. ?His challenge is to discuss his assets in a way that works to his benefit rather than his detriment,? says Schnur.

The exit polls from last Saturday?s Republican primary in South Carolina were telling for Romney. The winner, Newt Gingrich, won all income groups except those earning more than $200,000 a year. That may be more a function of Mr. Gingrich?s populist rhetoric and more consistent record as a cultural conservative than his wealth gap with Romney. Gingrich, after all, is also a wealthy man.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/QMfj1phqfhg/Mitt-Romney-tax-return-poses-a-challenge-how-to-talk-about-his-wealth

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