BAIN-LIE-GATE: I'M NOT FEELING IT

Yeah, yeah, I know: The Boston Globe uncovered smoking-gun documents -- government filings -- showing that Mitt Romney was ID'd as CEO and chairman of Bain Capital, and as sole owner, years after he says he left the firm (and during years when Bain was engaging in some truly stone-hearted business practices).

The problem is, Romney has a rebuttal that will probably sound plausible to Joe and Jane Heartland -- yes, he was still the Big Kahuna on paper, but he'd taken a leave of absence to (nobly) run the Olympics, and, well, you know those gosh-darn government documents! So confusing! Am I right?

Apologies for the buzzkill, but I think, for once in his life, something Romney is saying is going to be regarded as relatable by the average American.

Although I'll add this: that's true only if we never find documentary proof of his active involvement in Bain after 1999. And who knows? We've got four months to go here.

But for now, I think this is going to have much less impact than a lot of us are hoping. Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, whose previous airy dismissal of Obama outsourcing accusations is called into question by the new revelations, has already become Romney's principal surrogate on this matter, attacking the Globe's source as a partisan (though why it matters if the documents say what they say is a question he fails to answer). And Fortune's Dan Primack also rides to Romney's rescue, stating flatly that "Mitt Romney did not manage Bain Capital's investments after leaving to run the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, according to confidential firm documents." Alas, that's going to be enough to give Romney cover -- at least for now.

Though you know what I never want to hear again from a right-winger? Whining about "voter fraud!!!" because it turns out that certain voters haven't done a proper address update with the Board of Elections, or are registered at multiple addresses, even though there isn't a shred of evidence that they've ever tried to vote more than once in an election. That's how ordinary people fail to manage government filings; dealing with it on their own, they don't keep the records updated, and it's innocent in almost every case. By contrast, Romney had a roster of high-priced lawyers -- if he mishandled the filings, what's his excuse?