Romney's success at Bain developed his behavioral model. When dealing with people who are not going to be part of the ongoing enterprise, say whatever it takes to get them to sign the deal. Once the ink is dry, you are bound by the legal written contract, and whatever you said is totally irrelevant. You have no obligation to remember what you said, much less to do anything because a verbal commitment doesn't matter in that world.
When dealing with those who will be part of your future, and especially those who are or might be on the list of those you want something from, your words might matter. When dealing with anyone else, they are total suckers if they pay any attention to what you say, and it is fair to take advantage of them.
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So how can a citizen/voter evaluate Romney? Look at his actions. They tell us who he is.
He's the kid who led his friends to attack a very vulnerable young man.
He's the college student who supported the Vietnam War, and spent his deferment time in France.
He's shown compassion and charity to people who share his faith, but not to people who share his country.
He started Bain only after getting a contract that guaranteed that he would get his old job back if it failed, thereby taking on no risk. Using borrowed money, he made a lot of money with no discernible action to mitigate the damage for those who got hurt along the way.
He has not released his 2009 tax return, which tells us that something in it would reveal actions and decisions that he wants hidden.
He picked Paul Ryan to be candidate for Vice President of the United States.
If you ignore his talk and just look at his walk, he will privatize every aspect of government to the benefit of private corporations and to the detriment of the public. He will act to finish the destruction that Bush started. And of course he will cut taxes for the wealthy and raise them on the middle class while running huge deficits. As long as he and his friends get more money, he has an absolute indifference as to what happens to the rest of us. We, after all, are seen as the proles who should be grateful we have such fine John Galts to rule over us.
Romney will talk a lot to keep us from watching what he actually does.
And he will smirk happily as Americans who are not in his club or his church suffer.