So you want to meet Mitt Romney? Too bad.

The political class is waiting expectantly on Mitt Romney to reveal himself to the country in a way he has been unwilling to due thus far this campaign season in his convention speech.

Give us your vision for the future! They say. Rattle off your illustrious Olympic saving, consulting genius, dedicated to your church biography! They plead. Tell us something, anything about yourself, we’re begging you!

Well chances are, aside from some poll-tested snippets of the biography that he’s said a million times before, the American people will get none of that from Romney during convention week.

And though we deserve more, why should we expect it?

You see, what the chattering class is yet to accept, and the masses are about to understand about W. Mitt Romney is that he’s the most closed-off man ever to seek the Presidency.

A knock on President George H. W. Bush has always been that he was unwilling to discuss his heroism. He was modest to the end, even if it cost him a second term.

Mr. Romney is making a similar mistake with his lack of transparency.

We live in a world that values transparency above almost all else. And though you may not like President Obama’s policy prescriptions and what he’s done with his first term, at least he’s willing to reveal himself to us.

The man wrote a highly personal, moving memoir. It’s basically how he got famous. And though some details of this narrative are under attack, at least the President is willing to level with the American people—he’s a highly transparent public official.

I’m not a big Obama fan, but I can respect this characteristic. In fact, I’ve come to respect it more and more as Mr. Romney has been willing to reveal less and less.

Take the tax returns issue. Yes harping on tax returns is an attempt to distract the American people from Obama’s handling of the economy. But it is also important because it’s a transparency issue.

Mr. Romney probably won’t release any more of his tax returns, at least partially, because it reveals how much he gives to the Mormon Church. This is a private matter, I understand this, but when you’re running for President, especially in a world seeking hyper transparency, you give up the ability to make such an argument. Plus most people would probably find these donations admirable, even if they did go to a church most Americans don’t understand.

The American people deserve to know Mr. Romney—he’s asking to hold the most important position in the world. We deserve to at least know what kind of a guy he is.

Throughout the race, Mr. Romney has polled with higher negative than favorable personal ratings. This isn’t only because President Obama’s attacks have been working. It’s also because people don’t know him.

People rarely like the rich guy down the street who drives out in his Ferrari, plays tennis on his personal tennis court, and never speaks to the neighbors. This is in essence Mr. Romney.

He cannot win as this type of a figure, but take heart. The reintroduction can come at the convention. Most people were tuned out thus far anyway, so this is his chance, the big reveal.

But I see almost no way we’ll actually see real Romney, probably ever. If he couldn’t bring himself to tell us who he really is before, why would he now?

He thinks he’s given us enough already. He has the hubris to think that we’ll elect him just because he’s competent. Any observer of a 5^th grade student council election is aware of the fact that this is a fool’s errand.

We never elect the nerdy kid with good ideas. That kid works at a think tank, or as a highly successful management consultant, not as class President, and certainly later not as President of the United States.

Instead we select the leader who we admire, and will level with us.

And we might admire Mr. Romney, but we just don’t know him, and that’s the kiss of death in politics.