William Cohan has an interesting take on Mitt Romney, which is completely distinct from the policy and left/right issues. According to Cohan, who did deals with Bain during the Romney years, the company specialized in dirty tricks.

Specifically, Bain would make the high bid for a company being offered for sale — then, after the other bidders had been sent away, would start finding things to complain about, and haggle the price down. This was, I gather, a major sin, since believe it or not Wall Street wheeling and dealing requires a high level of trust in one’s personal word.

This isn’t a policy issue; it’s the kind of thing I usually try to stay away from, the supposedly character-revealing nature of someone’s personal history. But as these things go, it’s especially interesting. Would you buy a used company — or a used ideology — from this guy?