Beware of this Rovian maneuver... it is coming.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

79. But how does Romney get around the requirement of showing the real return?

So the fake return shows zero taxes paid. Romney shows it's a fake form and says "but I did pay taxes". The issue is the content of the return. How does Romney rebut the substance of the fake return and the clamor for the real one? Any claim that the fake form is inaccurate requires production of the real return. He simply can't get round that.

So if someone produces a return showing Romney paid no taxes, with a fake form attached, it will show someone duped the media. It can't put the issue of Romney's taxes to rest as long as the real returns are out there. This isn't the same as the Killian case where a letter contrary to the Killian letter couldn't be produced because it was claimed it never existed. Frankly, I'd think Romney would want to avoid anything that brings up the issue of tax returns, even fake ones.