A good leader learns from mistakes, especially those of his rivals. Jeb Bush is said to be preparing to release a decade of tax returns, intent on avoiding the mistake that helped sink Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
Politico reported that Jeb Bush is preparing to release a decade or more of personal tax returns, in a bid to pre-empt negative attacks on his business dealings and financial position.
By releasing the tax information at such an early stage (Bush has yet to formally declare his candidacy), the campaign hopes to get any controversies into the open and resolved, so they don’t become a focus as the race heats up.
It’s a smart strategy. Getting the bad news out early, and on your own terms, makes a lot of sense. It’s a strategy right out of the crisis-management handbook.
Still, the revelations are likely to offer plenty of material for those who will produce attack ads for Bush’s opponents, but at least they won’t be reinforced by concurrent media reports. By then, the tax issues will be old news, or at least that’s the calculation the Bush team is making.
The Bush approach is a sharp contrast to the one taken by Mitt Romney, who released just two years of his tax information. That stance fed speculation Mr. Romney used aggressive interpretations of the IRS code to lower his tax bill. Instead of releasing his returns, he offered an awkward estimate of his effective tax rate, which, at 14 percent, was well below the rate paid by most Americans – a fact that brought Romney even more grief.
By mishandling this issue, Romney was easily cast as privileged and out-of-touch with the concerns of mainstream voters. His campaign never regained its footing. The Bush team seems to have learned the lesson.
The 2016 presidential race is already getting interesting and it’s barely begun.