Obama's Bain Attacks Could Backfire

There is a defense for Bain, but Mr. Barone's column seems to paint with too broad a brush. The fact Romney had left Bain at the time the subject company did the criticized layoffs did not resonate and should not have. The subject company was acquired when Romney was at Bain; after Romney left Bain, he was still on the SEC filings; and Bain did at thesubject company what private equity firms do. The defense is that in free markets, a private equity firm can come in and save an otherwise faltering company. The sense that Bain is part of the freedom we want is why the Bain attacks are failing. That sense overrides any concern that in a few occasions, private equity firms have engaged in what is called vulture capitalism.