What do you get when you play a country-western tune backwards? The wife returns from her temporary dwelling in Squalid, Miss.; the electricity and water are turned back on at the trailer in Left Out, Okla., and the hound dog resurrects.

See? Everything turns out OK in the end if you can construct a creative pathway to achieve a desirable solution.

GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney wants not only to retain all the Bush Administration tax cuts, but also to lower taxes more and eliminate capital gains taxes.

He seeks to increase defense spending. He applauds some of the Obamacare enhancements, such as providing insurance coverage for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Yet he also wants to balance the budget and reduce the $16 trillion deficit.

Questioned during primary season debates on whether he would accept an absurd hypothetical proposal to increase taxes by $1 for every $10 in spending reductions, Romney joined the other timid GOP candidates in flatly rejecting this proposition.

So as an undecided ticket-splitter, I attempted to ascertain how Romney would achieve his objectives. I read his statements backwards, upside down, skipped alternating words, sentences and paragraphs.

Haven't been able to figure it out any more than I can discover how a magician levitates the attractive girl on stage.

Romney pledges to close tax loopholes, but not hurt the middle class. But 47 percent pay no income tax, and many who do use standard deductions that don't involve potential loopholes to close. Romney is silent on details.

He claims he will create 12 million new jobs in four years if elected. Does this mean a net gain, or would this figure be offset by a 12-million loss of existing jobs during this interval? Nobody knows.

Kind of reminds me of a furniture purchase whose carton, in small print, says "some assembly required." Open the box and you find 386 parts.

After two days or reading 24 pages of directions, sweating and swearing throughout, assembly is complete...but 53 pieces are left over!

In late August, I participated in an area town hall meeting to discuss the then upcoming San Antonio city budget.

Although far North Side residents generally prefer smaller government — at least verbally — I was surprised to see that participants wanted more services rather than service reductions.

I get it. Let's initiate or improve programs, have a few reductions, but don't increase taxes. Which is why our national deficit expands.

Romney asks us if we are better off now than four years ago. Actually, the answer is "yes," as we were skidding off a cliff then.

The recession was declared over in June of 2009. We may have reached a bottom then, but the economy has not rebounded enough to declare that the recession ended. If a student improves his grades from 40 to 50, this is still failing.

You cannot stop and turn around an aircraft carrier as quickly as a jet ski. But the Obama Administration is not entitled to a free pass, either.

While you can fall down a hill faster than you can climb it, the recovery has been somewhere between dismal and horrid. This calendar year has had less vigor than 2011, which was no prize.

The administration tried to bribe prospective homebuyers with huge tax breaks — this atop bargain prices and record low interest rates. It didn't work.

To sell cars, the government launched a "cash for clunkers" program that overpaid for used vehicles which resulted in destruction of cars that would have been affordable to low income drivers. Another foolish expenditure.

Democrats promulgate two red herrings ... Romney's wealth and likeability. The super-rich class of former presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, as well as 2004 standard bearer John Kerry, never bothered them.

The likeability characteristic probably tipped the scales in favor of George W. Bush — twice! Frankly, this trait is more important in evaluating your next door neighbor, not the problem-solver in chief (who will be living 1,600 miles away).

I worry about the various safety nets that are bursting at the seams with their rapid expansion. Give me the presidential team that can produce ladders so that this burgeoning underclass can climb out of these nets.

Usually, I vote during the first couple days of the early voting season, but this year, I might withhold judgment longer.

Mitt, your siren song on fixing the economy is unconvincing. Without specifics, I have a better chance connecting all the stars in the galaxy than making sense of your detail-free platitudes.

While most voters have made up their minds and Texas will be solidly in your camp, my vote hangs in the balance. Please provide clarity, not smoke and mirrors. The October debates may provide this opportunity.

Former newsman and public relations executive Mike Collins is a North Central San Antonian. He currently is a landlord for residential single-family homes in Bexar County and suburban Phoenix. (Press time preceded the initial presidential debate held Wednesday.)