Or is this another Republican Presidential nominee whose youthful indiscretions extended into his forties?
Second, about the "youthful indiscretion" defense: I did a lot of stuff in my youth I wouldn't want publicized, too, but most of that is because of various statutes of limitation. None of it ever included picking on children younger or smaller than myself, and certainly not joining or organizing gangs to do so. Because I knew that was wrong. Because I'd been taught it was wrong. And because it is wrong. And a mark of cowardice. Most Vietnamese are smaller than Mitt Romney, too. Just a fun fact.
Finally: that "the boy later turned out to be gay" routine seems designed to induce empathy in the modern reader. I happen to believe Romney's FOX defense--what I could hear of it through his Haw-haw-hawing--that homosexuality had nothing to do with it. This was Ur-Hippie punching. As such, it's precisely the same, and a damned fine lasting metaphor for Romney, his party, and their economic policies.
Should this be an issue in a Presidential campaign? In a sane and sensible time and place, no. Does that answer the question?
10 comments:
The GOP made the candidate's childhood fair game in the last go round, they cannot be heard to complain about it now.
And at no point has it been acceptable to pick on the blind either. Well, on paper at least.
I agree with JD, though. They wanted his grades and college applications, have posted up Michelle's undergraduate project, laid out the dog eating and published information from old girlfriend's diaries. If they want this to stop, then they should have thought about that a little earlier.
If they want Mr. Stiff to come off as a friendly joker in private, they need to find better jokes he's told.
(Somerby I think noted a few times about the calls he would get in 2000 since he was Al Gore's room mate in college to get those inside scoops. This is not new practice. What is odd is that his old friends decided to tell on him.)
Not that odd, I think. While Rmoney's old school mates may also be sons of privilege, they seem to have souls.
"that homosexuality had nothing to do with it"
I doubt it. First, Romney lied about not remembering the hair cutting incident. Second, he tried to deny that homosexuality was not on anyone's mind in those days. Horseshit. "Queer" "Smear the queer". Those were two of the biggest put downs that boys used to taunt other boys in the 60s. And this morphed right in with the hippie punching, "get a haircut you fags!", right wing, bullying reaction to the left in the 60s. And in a private all boys school homosexuality had to have been a sensitive subject that was likely expressed in blatant acts of homophobia. So, it was on everyone's and no one's mind. Romney just fucking lies.
I thought Tommy Lee Jones was Al Gore's roommate?
I lost it at "Most Vietnamese are smaller than Mitt Romney, too." Nicely done.
I thought Mitt was 18 when this happened, not 14.
Mitt's behavior at 18 is perhaps not terribly relevant today. How Mitt incorporated his utter assholishness at age 18 into the man he later became is. And when asked about the incident, rather than take the obvious (and we must pray honest) approach of saying he has spent his adult life trying to become a better person than he was as a callow youth, he instead first claimed no recollection and then issued one of the worst fake apologies I've ever seen. That's a real issue.
As people smarter than me have pointed out, Douglas C. Niedermeyer.
Most Vietnamese are smaller than Mitt Romney, too.
Mitt's response:thatwould be taking the prank too far. Seriously, these assault/battery type jokes are just no fun when the targets are armed.
sigyn
I do hope and pray that this will have a longer life than the campaign against Romney due to his criminal treatment of Seamus. I get the impression that the media (forgive the generalization) have figured out that people really just don't like Mittens. Lessee, born rich, arrogant, stiff, phony; those are just his good points! I do hope the President is able to hang on through November and beat the snot out of Willard and company. Otherwise? Canada is still looking pretty, pretty good....
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