George Romney was before my time, but from what I have read of him there was a great deal to respect about him. He was a self made man who went from welfare to president of one of the "Big Four" and governor of MI, and when he ran for president he set the standard of integrity for all subsequent campaigns when he released a DOZEN years of tax returns. It baffles me that everyone who knew Mitt back then says he idolized his father as a role model, because in this case it seems the apple fell VERY far from the tree.

Mitt has yet to release even ONE full tax return: His 2010 return is missing the critical FBAR form listing his foreign bank accounts, and that is big deal, not only because of the omission but because I guarantee he filed one. The IRS takes that form seriously enough I checked out myself after hearing horror stories of Americans living in Europe ignorant of it, only to discover it when they found out failure to report the bank accounts in countrys where they have lived and worked for years now subjects them to millions of dollars in interest and penalties the IRS now insists they pay with middle class annual incomes. And when I say, "middle class," I mean ACTUAL middle class, not the $200-250,000 number Romney cites.

George Romney sounds like a stand-up guy in every respect; honest, hardworking and compassionate in the mold of the '50s and '60s New England Republicans who have all but vanished since the Reagan Revolution labeled them RINOs and made them an endangered species. I have no earthly idea why his son is so different, but my working theory is that George had to work for a living and was consequently not just mouthing false platitudes when he said he empathized with struggling families.