It worked for W. and the national guard. W. just said "fuck you all, I'm not going to talk about my past" and left it at that. The press happily left it at that, and obviously the American public left it at that. Twice. I'm sure the same thinking went into how the Romney campaign chose to deal with his tax problems. It probably would have worked again if not for Harry Reid and an opponent who decided to play hardball for a change.