The Obama campaign has been running shadowy ads insinuating that Mitt Romney did not leave Bain Capital in 1999, as he claims, but continued to participate in the company’s day-to-day operations until 2002, when he ran for governor of Massachusetts.

The charges are relevant, because the Obama campaign has accused Bain of engaging in mass layoffs, outsourcing to China and Mexico, and bankrupting several companies between 1999 and 2002.  The Obama camp implies that Romney was responsible for those events.

Instead of defending the layoffs and outsourcing as necessary for Bain’s proper operation, and noting that bankruptcy was inevitable for several companies that were performing poorly and incapable of recovering, Romney has merely pointed out that he left Bain in 1999 and had no say in its hiring, firing, or outsourcing decisions.  read more »