Monday, July 23, 2012

Former McCain adviser: Romney taxes complex but not ‘disqualifying’

A top campaign official who worked for Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential bid and helped select his running mate said Sunday that Mitt Romney's tax returns "do not look anything like the average American," but held nothing which prevented him from being on the ticket.
Steve Schmidt, McCain's former campaign strategist, who viewed Romney’s tax returns when the presumptive nominee was being vetted for the vice presidential slot in the last cycle said Romney was an “extremely wealthy man.”
He said Romney had turned over 23-years’ worth of tax returns to the McCain campaign to vet that were extremely complex. But Schmidt also said there was nothing in the documents that would have precluded McCain from picking Romney.
"Mitt Romney went through this process and what I can tell you is that he's a person of decency with the highest ethical character and background," Schmidt said. "There was nothing that was disqualifying. That pick in 2008 was not about any deficiency with Mitt Romney. It was a political decision that we made in a very bad political circumstance."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/239367-mccain-adviser-romneys-tax-returns-do-not-look-anything-like-the-average-american

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