One private equity industry insider Thursday expressed displeasure with Mitt Romney's explanations so far in defense of his record at Bain Capital, which has come under attack from President Barack Obama's reelection campaign.
"He is driving me insane," the insider wrote. He then laid out a prescription for what he thinks Romney should be saying:
"All he has to say is he invested in companies that were poised for growth or in need of a turnaround. The vast majority were successful, but nobody bats 1,000 when there is risk involved. In the process, he generated significant returns for his investors who by the way are public pensions funds, university endowments, and charitable trusts. A huge benefit of that success was that he created a lot of jobs and saved companies that otherwise might have gone out of business."
The insider then explained how Romney should "pivot and attack" Obama:
"For Obama to attack that, is an assault on free enterprise and business itself. Thus, exposing the very reason why he is incapable of turning the economy around."
The Huffington Post on Wednesday explored reasons why Romney may have been hesitant to fully embrace a debate about private equity. Perhaps he is not sure how to talk about the concept of "creative destruction," a topic he devoted six pages to in his 2010 book, describing it as a key component of "every advanced economy in the world."
"Of course," the private equity insider lamented, " when he actually does decide to talk about [the free market] he uses the phrase 'creative destruction.'"