Maybe because he failed, he became a "numbers" guy after? Was he like many, who relied on the research of others, then recited it chapter and verse his constituents, only to end up looking foolish? Did he then decide that if he was going to recite C & V, then he needed to be doing his own homework, rather than to rely on the work of others?
I don't know the answers, or trying to be snarky.
It's fine, Deb.
Romney, for years now, has always prided himself on his "business" prowess and when he's called to talk business finance he's generally done well - ergo, his reputation for having keen business acumen.
I'd say he can get lost in the numbers, so like all astute politicians, he's going to have his advisers "advise" him on issues. But he'll get the major stuff down so he doesn't look like an idiot during a debate.
His business sense is one of the premises he ran on during the primaries and that is the principal reason he was "invited" to "save" the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City when no "saving" needed to have been done. You might recall that a couple of guys on the Salt Lake Olympic Committee got caught up in a "scandal" that, oddly enough, exists every time there's an Olympics and were shitcanned from the Committee at the 11th hour 59th minute. Here comes Romney, riding to the rescue.
Romney's like a blister - he shows up when the work is done.
Pretty boys do that, you know.
