BostonGlobe.com Political Headlines - July 20, 2012

Here are the top POLITICAL headlines from BostonGlobe.com today:

• Romney kept reins on Bain, bargained hard on severance during absence: Interviews with a half-dozen of his former partners and associates, as well as public records, show that Mitt Romney was not merely an absentee owner of Bain Capital during his leave of absence. Financial investigations reporter Beth Healy and Washington bureau deputy chief Michael Kranish report.

• In Roxbury, Romney hits Obama's business message: On a visit to a Roxbury truck company, Mitt Romney slammed President Obama for suggesting profitable businesses owe their success to government. Political correspondent Callum Borchers details. 

• Mitt Romney and John Kerry's seesawing political fortunes:  Senator John Kerry hopes to cap his career with a stint as secretary of state in a second Obama term. That's why he seems so determined to prevent a Romney presidency. Columnist Scot Lehigh details.

Mitt Romney hitting N.H., with Kelly Ayotte in tow, amid week's tour of battleground states: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is closing out a week of active campaigning with another battleground state visit today, appearing at a New Hampshire specialty lumber supplier with prospective running mate Kelly Ayotte. Boston.com political editor Glen Johnson writes.