Romney attempts an Olympic turnaround – again

Mitt Romney hasn’t been having a good week: first all the questions about whether he really did step down from Bain Capital while he ran the Salt Lake City Olympics between 1999 and 2002. Then pressure to reveal more than two years of his tax returns with all the lingering doubts over whether he’s got something to hide.

To add insult to injury, the latest campaign ad from the Obama campaign reveals just how bad he is at holding a tune. And no, it didn’t help that Team Romney issued a counter ad featuring a singing Obama on the soundtrack, sounding – well – suitably cool. However, it’s apparently now been pulled from Youtube for copyright reasons.

But more seriously, Romney must be fairly desperate to change the subject, and he really, really doesn’t want to publish any more details about his taxes. His communications director Gail Gitcho, on Fox, insisted the former Governor had already “gone above and beyond what is required of him to be transparent in these tax returns”.

And as for Bain – campaign spokesman Ed Gillespie now says Romney “retroactively” retired from the post of CEO, although documents show he was listed as the head of the company throughout the three years in question. The reason that matters is that it covers a period when, claim the Democrats, Bain invested in firms that outsourced thousands of jobs abroad.

Obama won’t apologise for hammering home the issue: “Mr Romney claims he’s Mr Fix-it for the economy because of his business experience, so I think voters entirely legitimately want to know what exactly is his business experience.”

Cue the London Olympics: and not even the spirit of the Games is likely to mitigate the increasingly personal attacks. Both campaigns are investing millions of dollars in avertising during the massive sporting event: just over $5m from the Obama campaign, and $7.5m pledged by Romney’s superPAC, Restore Our Future.

Captive audience

They are both hoping to reach a largely captive audience, who’ll be watching events live rather than fast-forwarding past the commercial breaks. And they will no doubt also be hoping to benefit by association from the feeling of goodwill and national pride that will doubtless fill the millions watching America’s finest sportsmen and women bring home soem glory.

But Governor Romney has a particular Olympic story to tell: indeed he’s even written a book about it – Turnaround – charting his successful effort to dig the 2002 Winter Olympics out of disgrace. He has alluded to it once or twice during the 2012 campaign, telling conservative activists: “I led an Olympics out of the shadow of scandal”.

I led an Olympics out of the shadow of scandal. Mitt Romney

Romney himself will be attending the opening ceremony in London, holding a fundraiser or two there at the same time. But the event could provide the ideal opportunity for him to showcase his business prowess.

The story of Romney’s involvement is fairly well known: he took over the games in 1999 after an international bribery scandal, embarking on a tireless blitz to win sponsorship, rebuild morale, and slash millions of dollars from the budget. Most of those who worked with him are willing to give him much of the credit, for his vision, his drive and his business acumen.

Olympic bailout?

However he won’t be getting an easy ride. Democrat ads, earlier in the election cycle have already claimed that the success of the Salt Lake City Games was funded by millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money: a bailout, if you like. And President Obama, who is sending the First Lady Michelle to represent him in London, will no doubt be keen to pose alongside winning athletes in the White House, as Politico has suggested.

And then there’s the issue of Mrs Romney’s horse. Mitt’s wife Ann will be coming to London with him, not just to cheer on the US team – but to support her horse Rafalca, competing in the dressage. Although Mrs Romney credits horse-riding with helping her cope with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, dressage isn’t going to do much for Mitt’s efforts to get beyond the image of an out of touch, super-wealthy squillionaire.

Political sniping? An excuse for a mega advertising blitz? Keep searching for that Olympic spirit. May the Games begin.

Felicity Spector writes about US poltiics for Channel 4 News