But the fact that the campaign advanced the notion in the first place is revealing. Trying to define Romney in some criminal light was obviously a strategy and, not to leap to conclusions, suggests both desperation and a lack of any substantive criticism. …

Romney was still a “passive, limited partner” with “no management capacity,” according to a 2002 statement he filed with the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. But his partners ran the company after Romney left — rather hastily — to save the Olympics. Romney’s name was first floated by the Olympic committee on Feb. 2, and he accepted the challenge on Feb. 11. Nine days is hardly enough time to pack a toothbrush, much less push the paperwork necessary to hand over a multibillion-dollar business.

The purpose of the Obama campaign’s allegation was to paint Romney as that modern scourge — an uncaring corporate suit who outsources jobs and lays off workers. It is true that Bain worked with some companies that outsourced jobs to other countries — that most common of business practices conceived not only to enhance profits but also to feed Americans’ insatiable appetite for cheap goods. But all of it occurred after Romney’s tenure.