Does it matter if Mitt Romney was a bully in high school?
Does it matter if Mitt Romney misbehaved in high school? That question arises due to a report in Thursday鈥檚 Washington Post that when he was a senior at suburban Detroit鈥檚 Cranbrook school, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee led a 鈥減osse鈥� that held down and forcibly cut the long blond hair of a nonconformist junior.
鈥淗e can鈥檛 look like that. That鈥檚 wrong. Just look at him!鈥� an incensed Mitt said at the time, according to fellow student Matthew Friedemann, .
Mr. Romney himself said Thursday that he cannot remember the incident. The longhaired student in question, John Lauber, is now deceased. But Romney gave some legs to the story by apologizing repeatedly for any pranks he may have pulled in high school that hurt or offended his fellows.
鈥淎s to pranks that were played back then, I don鈥檛 remember them all. But again, high school days 鈥� if I did stupid things, I鈥檓 afraid I've got to say sorry for it,鈥� said Romney in an interview on Fox News Radio.
Romney鈥檚 opponents say they are torn by the relevance of an alleged incident that would have occurred some 50 years ago. But they forge ahead nonetheless, saying that if true, the forcible haircut could provide some insight into the character of a man who wants to sit in the Oval Office.
鈥淩omney was 18 鈥� old enough to vote, old enough to serve in the military, and old enough to know not to attack a vulnerable teenager unprovoked,鈥� on Thursday on Rachel Maddow鈥檚 MSNBC blog.
Even some liberals who believe the incident too old to be relevant say it鈥檚 fair game for the press. Romney shouldn鈥檛 be surprised that the media remain interested in what happened during his time at a school so upper crust it looks like Hogwarts 鈥� if Hogwarts were designed by world-famous architect Eliel Saarinen.
鈥淓very aspect of [Romney鈥檚] life is going to get picked over. It comes with the territory. It鈥檚 a deeply reported piece. In journalistic terms, the story is totally legit,鈥� Greg Sargent at The Plum Line on Thursday.
Romney supporters, on the other hand, were furious, saying that 90 percent of voters will agree that the ex-governor鈥檚 prep-school actions aren鈥檛 relevant today. The Post story is a subtle attempt to shape Romney as a gay basher at a moment when President Obama has come out in favor of same-sex marriage, they add.
鈥淲hen long investigative pieces on Obama鈥檚 last three years (i.e. his presidency) start appearing on the front pages of newspapers, maybe the press has justification for going back decades to explore his opponent鈥檚 childhood,鈥� writes Jennifer Rubin at Right Turn.
Others on the right go even further. At RedState, editor Erick Erickson said the Post story is 鈥渏ust silly.鈥� He questions the truth of incident, saying that the alleged victim never mentioned the haircut to his family, among other things.
鈥淎fter four years of ignoring Barack Obama鈥檚 bullying of religious groups and others from inside the White House, it鈥檚 fair game to go after Mitt Romney as a supposed high school bully,鈥� on Thursday.
Should this story matter today? Does it slightly alter the image of Romney that biographers have been piecing together, as in Slate?
Leave a comment below and tell us what you think.
