Romney's strong suit is his vast experience in the private sector.

[JohnnyRingo]

And to hear the Republicans tell it, his finesse in private sector business is the only thing that can save the country from finacial ruin. Let's look at the history of those private sector Republican presidents:

Ike: No private sector experience.
Nixon: He was a attorney and a crook.
Reagan: Only when he played a role as a businessman.
Poppy Bush: CIA since college.
GW Bush: There's your Republican with "private sector" experience.

Touting Romney as the poster child for the great American dream is an endorsement for a return to a George W Bush economy, something even the most devout GOP politician is hesitant to say aloud.

On the other hand, the incumbent is a Harvard bred constitutional law scholar. How can anything give a better understanding of how government works? This year, Repubs are talking like someone who owns a hot dog stand or a thieving investment banker can guide the country better than anyone.

[sabbat hunter]

1. not to support George HW Bush but

As far as I know, he didn't become CIA chief until 1976 and then was only in charge for about a year.

where do you get that he was in the CIA since college?

And Ike was president of Columbia, which technically is the private sector.

[JohnnyRingo]

2. Bush began his career in politics in 1964

Two years later, he became a congressman. His private sector background is thin indeed.

Though he also wore the hats of ambassador and VP, it's common knowledge that his ties to The Company go back to the Kennedy years compounded by his political connections. It's not something one puts on a resume' though.

When one thinks of Ike, military comes to mind long before business. Nowhere in history is there a footnote about what a great businessman Eisenhower was.

[rfranklin]

3. Bush Sr.'s oil company was a CIA cover...

In 1953, Bush got money from Brown Brothers Harriman and, with partners Hugh and Bill Liedtke, formed Zapata Petroleum. By the late 1950s they were millionaires. Bush bought subsidiary Zapata Off-Shore from his partners and went into business on his own in 1954. By 1958, the new company was drilling on the Cay Sal Bank in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. These islands had been leased to Nixon supporter and CIA contractor Howard Hughes the previous year and were later used as a base for CIA raids on Cuba. The CIA was using companies like Zapata to stage and supply secret missions attacking Fidel Castro’s Cuban government in advance of the Bay of Pigs invasion. The CIA’s codename for that invasion was “Operation Zapata.” In 1981, all Securities and Exchange Commission filings for Zapata Off-Shore between 1960 and 1966 were destroyed. In other words, the year Bush became vice president, important records detailing his years at his drilling company disappeared. In 1969, Zapata bought the United Fruit Company of Boston, another company with strong CIA connections.

http://www.famoustexans.com/georgebush.htm

[KT2000]

4. and he was not very good at it

according to the extensive article in The New Yorker.