Why Won't Romney Release More Tax Returns (The New Yorker)

[JHB]

21. That's been my take too. They're accustomed to brazening it out

The Republicans have weathered any number of scandals by stonewalling and accusing the media of liberal bias and the Democrats of hyper-partisanship. And for so long they got their way by the other side caving that it's their reflexive tactic.

However, it works best when they are in power and can control the flow of information. Here' they're not in power (and it's a personal matter anyway, not an abuse-of-government-office matter), and Mitt pumping out the same plastic denials (complete with over-specific weasel words) works against him, not for him.

The documentation looks harder (him listed with several titles after he said he left), and his opposition (Obama) is much more aggressive in shaping the narrative than Gore or Kerry were.

Even if they change their tune, old habits led them to waste a lot of time going in the wrong direction.