Romney's No-Lose Life....pre-arranged dishonesty

[kpete]

....pre-arranged dishonesty -- a conspiracy before the fact, so to speak, to lie and cover up for failure.

as seen here:

In early spring of 1983, with the sun pouring into his office in the Faneuil Hall marketplace, Bain offered Romney the job that would make his career. Romney balked, catching Bain off guard.

Romney explained that he didn't want to risk his position, earnings, and reputation on an experiment in investing. The offer was appealing, Romney recalled in a recent interview, but he wasn't going to make such a decision in a "light or flippant manner."

So Bain sweetened the offer. He guaranteed that if the experiment failed, Romney would get his old job and salary back, plus any raises handed out during his absence.

Romney had one more concern: the impact on his reputation should he prove unable to do the job. In the end, Bain agreed to craft a cover story if necessary, promising to bring Romney back to the consulting firm and explain Romney's return as a matter of his being more valuable to Bain as a consultant.

"So," Bain says, "there was no professional or financial risk."
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part3_main/

MORE:
http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/talkingpolitics/archive/2011/11/14/romney-s-no-lose-life.aspx