# Romney: If I Offended Anyone by Torturing Him, I Apologize" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 10, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553 "2012-05-10T21:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/121 "2012-05-11T21:21:43Z")
> [@Deegeea](#): > > For everyone who’s saying you remember the bad incidents in your past: Well, you remember the ones you remember. Confirmation bias, isn’t it? > > How do you know for sure that you didn’t also do something equally bad that you’ve forgotten? Until you run for office and someone reminds you, that is… Speak for yourself, please. My memory’s not the best, but I can recall with some clarity several incidents between the ages of about 10 and 15 when I participated in verbal abuse of a fellow student; I recall these incidents with shame. Altogether there are many dozens of my misbehavings I remember vividly and with shame. None approach in obnoxious mischief the bullying 18-year old Romney is accused of. Romney has a strong sense of elite entitlement; this is obvious from his comments. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/122 "2012-05-11T21:35:42Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Speak for yourself, please. > > My memory’s not the best, but I can recall with some clarity several incidents between the ages of about 10 and 15 when I participated in verbal abuse of a fellow student; I recall these incidents with shame. Altogether there are many dozens of my misbehavings I remember vividly and with shame. None approach in obnoxious mischief the bullying 18-year old Romney is accused of. > > Romney has a strong sense of elite entitlement; this is obvious from his comments. Yes. Romney said, “I don’t remember any of them at all”, which speaks to the numerous incidents that Romney could have been involved in that we don’t know of yet. **Dgeeaee** was likely referring to one campaign doing research on their own candidate in the hopes that they will find what the other campaign will find on the candidate. **septimus** ’s point, though, stands. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Deal_Democrat)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/123 "2012-05-11T21:40:04Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Admittedly not an exact quote, but that’s the gist. > > This story broke: > [Does it matter if Mitt Romney was a bully in high school? - CSMonitor.com](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2012/0510/Does-it-matter-if-Mitt-Romney-was-a-bully-in-high-school-video) > > about Romney leading a gang of bullies to hold down a non-conformist kid, and forcibly cut his hair as he was screaming for help. Asked about it today on Fox News, Romney said he didn’t remember doing it, but would not challenge the man’s account, and added that he did lots of stupid things in high school, and if he hurt anyone, he was sorry. > > Can’t wait to see how Rush spins this one. “Good to know we have a real man running for office.” If he did not remember it this indicates that this kind of behavior was so typical of him that it did not stand out. I hope reporters are asking around to see if he did other stuff like this. The number of people who were hectored by bullies in high school is much larger than the number of homosexuals. If more stories like this come out a significant segment of the voting public will begin to associate Romney with a thug who made their teenage years miserable. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/124 "2012-05-11T21:56:47Z")
Dragging some story about Romney in high school is beyond lame. Are we all supposed to be accountable for what we did forty plus years ago? Obama has admitted to experimenting with drugs as a teen. I could care less what a politician did thirty years ago unless it was a Felony like rape or murder Where’s this going to end? Are we going to accuse a politician of pulling a girls hair in 2nd grade? Did you know Obama peed his diaper when he was 7 months old? Can’t elections focus on current issues? ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/125 "2012-05-11T22:07:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Can’t elections focus on current issues? No. Remember when Obama released his birth certificate _before_ releasing Osama bin Laden’s death certificate? Remember Donald Trump? For two weeks all you could hear about was birth certificate and Donald Trump. Then, one Sunday evening in May, last year, all that changed. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/126 "2012-05-11T22:44:11Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > My memory’s not the best, but I can recall with some clarity several incidents between the ages of about 10 and 15 when I participated in verbal abuse of a fellow student; I recall these incidents with shame. Altogether there are many dozens of my misbehavings I remember vividly and with shame. None approach in obnoxious mischief the bullying 18-year old Romney is accused of. I cannot make this claim, My memory has more than holes than swiss cheese. But then, I did a lot of dope in those years. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/127 "2012-05-11T22:50:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Can’t elections focus on current issues? By not admitting to or apologizing for this, Romney has made this into a current issue. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/128 "2012-05-11T22:59:02Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I could care less what a politician did thirty years ago unless it was a Felony like rape or murder Not a lawyer, but I would bet that less privileged 18-year-olds have been charged with felonies for incidents exactly like that. It was probably assault back then, although since it involved a gang, a case might be made for aggravated assault. And Romney’s claim that he didn’t have any inkling of the guy’s sexuality is a transparent lie. I would ask the lawyers in the group whether it would be a federal hate crime today. And knowing he was that type of bully, and knowing that this occurred before the LDS revised their teaching about blacks being inferior to Caucasians, at least in a very important sense, I wonder what else he can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/129 "2012-05-11T23:00:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > By not admitting to or apologizing for this, Romney has made this into a current issue. And by announcing his endorsement of same-sex marriage, the President has made _this_ into a current issue. The President did the equivalent of a simulapost. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/130 "2012-05-11T23:36:20Z")
> [@New\_Deal\_Democrat](#): > > If he did not remember it this indicates that this kind of behavior was so typical of him that it did not stand out. He remembers not really thinking Lauber was gay, so that couldn’t have been the reason he did what he doesn’t remember doing. :rolleyes: He remembers. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/131 "2012-05-11T23:40:49Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Are we all supposed to be accountable for what we did forty plus years ago? No. But we \*are \*all supposed to be accountable for how we view what we did now that we are adults. For some, there’s been no change. If a candidate for office wants to be trusted, he has to show he’s an adult. > [@](#): > > Can’t elections focus on current issues? Issues come and go. Elections can, and should, focus on how candidates will respond to (or create) issues that arise over their term of office. That’s a matter of values, character, judgment … IOW adulthood. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/132 "2012-05-12T00:06:40Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Obama bombed Pearl Harbor, duh! No, that was the Jews. “Torah! Torah! Torah!” ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/133 "2012-05-12T00:28:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Dragging some story about Romney in high school is beyond lame. Are we all supposed to be accountable for what we did forty plus years ago? Well, apparently President Obama is supposed to be accountable for having eaten dog meat forty plus years ago in another coutry & culture. So I would say yes. Sauce for the goose… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/134 "2012-05-12T00:34:10Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, apparently President Obama is supposed to be accountable for having eaten dog meat forty plus years ago in another coutry & culture. So I would say yes. Sauce for the goose… . . . would be completely **wrong** for dog! Let us maintain some civilized standards, please! [_sniff_] ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/135 "2012-05-12T00:42:38Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Pretty sure they were _north_ of Hawaii. Ah, yes, but haven’t you read Sun Tzu: [QUOTE=Captain Thurman] They know we read their mail. They’re trying to make us think their fleet is moving south. I’m not buying it. Something - something - something’s up. Otherwise, why would they take the trouble to bullshit me? [/QUOTE] Second lesson in politics - always be exact, unless you are setting up a joke: > [@Kozmik](#): > > Remember in the film _Pearl Harbor_ the scene where Admiral Yamamoto reports to Japanese officers that “The task force is 320 miles south of Pearl Harbor.” The officers nod and Yamamoto looks at one of the officers who then tears off a page on the calendar. What is happening in this scene is that Yamamoto is telling his officers the state of Operation Z at 00:00:00 on December 7, 1941. They did not have [time.gov](http://time.gov) in 1941; of course, they had calendars. This scene could have been made up for the film or it could have actually happened. We don’t know. My point is: This scene really could have happened. Remember, also, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy.” That date began at midnight at 00:00:00. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/136 "2012-05-12T00:44:38Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Well, apparently President Obama is supposed to be accountable for having eaten dog meat forty plus years ago in another coutry & culture. Which became an issue because of the story about Romney traveling with a dog carrier on top of his car. There has to be a limit to how far we can go with this tit-for-tat stupidity. (Or if not, I should consider moving to Micronesia.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/137 "2012-05-12T01:20:14Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I can’t get past him saying he can’t remember the incident. That doesn’t make sense to me, and I wouldn’t trust anyone who said this. I would supect they had > some kind of brain damage or psychological condition. Or he was a serial bully and bullied so many kids that this incident did not stand out. In which case I would still think it was terrible that 5 decades later he got to be President. He was a predatory businessman and possibly a predatory teen. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/138 "2012-05-12T01:51:40Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Which became an issue because of the story about Romney travelling with a dog carrier on top of his car. There has to be a limit to how far we can go with this tit-for-tat stupidity. (Or if not, I should consider moving to Micronesia.) Oh there is a limit - they call it Election Day 🙂 Joke aside though, wasn’t Romney’s dog thing a relatively recent occurrence ? Don’t get me wrong, using it as some sort of political ammunition is retarded\* regardless, but at least it could boast a shadow of a hint of relevance ; whereas trying to use the dog eating thing as a counter-blow was just plain silly. But **aceplace** ’s going for outrage over dredging up the distant past barely a week after his political side have been giving their opponent shit non stop over that silly kindergarten crap ? Now that’s priceless. - (who gives a flying fuck what kind of person a politician is ? The only thing that matters is the kind of policies he supports. If someone who has good ideas fucks underage ducks out of wedlock in their spare time, I’m still voting for them. Or I would if I voted at all.) ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/139 "2012-05-12T02:17:49Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Oh there is a limit - they call it Election Day 🙂 They don’t call it Game Theory for nothing. Obama won this 24-hour news cycle. (I realize that there are less than 2 hours left in this 24-hour news cycle; however, I’m calling it for Obama.) 178 24-hour news cycles to complete until Election Day. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553/140 "2012-05-12T02:48:51Z")
> [@Deegeea](#): > > For everyone who’s saying you remember the bad incidents in your past: Well, you remember the ones you remember. Confirmation bias, isn’t it? > > How do you know for sure that you didn’t also do something equally bad that you’ve forgotten? Until you run for office and someone reminds you, that is… Ask me what I had for lunch ten years ago and I couldn’t tell you. Asked me if I robbed a bank ten years ago and I could very confidently tell you no. Routine things fade from memory - big things don’t. So if Romney honestly doesn’t remember whether or not he attacked another student, it must mean that doing things like that were routine for him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-if-i-offended-anyone-by-torturing-him-i-apologize/621553.md?page=8)