Mitt Romney, in an interview with the National Review, improved greatly on his campaign’s halting explanation of why he has held investments in the Cayman Islands, a Caribbean tax haven.

Still, the new defense seems unlikely to quell attacks from the Obama camp, which seems to like tossing around phrases like “tax haven” and “Cayman Islands” and connecting them to Mr. Romney. So far this week, it has launched two ads on the topic. (To view them, click here and here.)

In the interview, Mr. Romney suggested that his Cayman Islands investments are basically standard-issue private equity partnerships, not tax shelters. Cayman Islands is a favorite destination for private equity managers to locate new partnerships, mostly because foreign investors can participate while avoiding some U.S. tax entanglements. The same often goes for U.S. tax-exempt entities such as pension funds.

“The so-called offshore account in the Cayman Islands…is an account established by a U.S. firm to allow foreign investors to invest in U.S. enterprises and not be subject to taxes outside of their own jurisdiction,” Mr. Romney said.

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