# There's no Pit thread on the Romney bullying story yet, so . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582 "2012-05-11T02:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/221 "2012-05-11T21:04:10Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’ll try to remember how much of a moral vacuum you are in the future. This one will help, too: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14640125&postcount=110](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14640125&postcount=110) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/222 "2012-05-11T21:05:09Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I, too, am willing to believe that people can and do change over the years. It is entirely probable that Mitt is _not_ the same person today. > > So that leaves us with several options. > > 1. Mitt IS the same bully, and just does a good job of hiding it > 2. Mitt _has_ changed _and_ honestly doesn’t remember the event > 3. Mitt remembers and regrets the event like his cohorts did, but doesn’t want to admit to it > 4. Mitt remembers the event, doesn’t regret it, chalks it up to youthful indiscretion but doesn’t want to admit to it > 5. Mitt remembers and regrets the event and has been badly advised that he should \*not \*admit to it for political reasons > > To me, options 1 and 2 are not likely. Options 3 and 5 seem the _most_ likely I’ll take door number 5, although he may have just thought that himself without the aid of advisers. Who knows. To me, it’s sort of like the “didn’t inhale” defense. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/223 "2012-05-11T21:34:43Z")
Tell you what, **John-Boy** , I believe him. I think he faked a toke to make the people around him comfortable, so they would like him. A born politician like him never makes a move without considering his future. Guy like me, inhale like a motherfuck, because I’m not running for anything, ever. But not Bill. ---
**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, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/224 "2012-05-11T22:03:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Tell you what, **John-Boy** , I believe him. I think he faked a toke to make the people around him comfortable, so they would like him. A born politician like him never makes a move without considering his future. Guy like me, inhale like a motherfuck, because I’m not running for anything, ever. But not Bill. reminds me of the Dennis Miller bit where he said he wouldn’t trust the dweebs that passed up the joint in high school. Given his current job, he may have a different take on that now though. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/225 "2012-05-11T22:03:41Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > [http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/05/10/Obama-High-School-Drugs](http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/05/10/Obama-High-School-Drugs) > > **Flashback: Obama’s Sordid High School Past** > While the Washington Post has been diligently digging into relatively innocent high school pranks by Mitt Romney, they’ve spent the last few years diligently ignoring President Obama’s far more controversial high school days. [Moderating] **dngnb8** , posting entire articles from online news sources is a violation of copyright laws. If you want to present a news article in a discussion, please limit yourself to a short, representative quote, with a link to the original material. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/226 "2012-05-11T22:09:55Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > This is an example of how a conservative thinks he’s one-upping, but is actually proving the point he’s trying to refute. Im a conservative? Wow. I guess Conservatives are now Pro Choice. Expect analysis there This response is an example of a one way kool aid thinker believing in the “If youre not one of us, you must be one of them” > [@](#): > > First, Ben Shapiro is a twat, you shouldn’t take anything he says at face value. Second, Obama has admitted using drugs and wrote about it in his book. So because Ben repeated what Obama said, that means Obama lied? Can you ferret out that logic for me, it kind of escapes me. > [@](#): > > Third, using drugs doesn’t hurt anyone else. Bull crap. Ive seen the damage drugs do to others. I was a paramedic for 6 years in East LA and Watts. This has to be one of the most moronic statements I have seen on this board My post wasnt about just Obama, it was about how everyone makes poor mistakes as a kid. Thanks for playing ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/227 "2012-05-11T22:11:05Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > **dngnb8** , as has been pointed out already, those horrible, horrible things about Obama did not have to be “diligently dug into”, because Obama PUBLISHED THEM IN A BOOK HIMSELF. > > The important thing is how a grown man handles the things he did in his youth that are not great. > > 1. Learn and grow from them, recognizing your mistakes, and becoming a better man > > 2. Ignore them and when confronted with the facts, say “I forgot”. AGREED But doing dumb stuff as a kid isnt new and exciting. I think Im voting for Pat Paulson this election ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/228 "2012-05-11T22:12:59Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > [Moderating] > **dngnb8** , posting entire articles from online news sources is a violation of copyright laws. If you want to present a news article in a discussion, please limit yourself to a short, representative quote, with a link to the original material. > > No warning issued. > [/Moderating] I believe if you give credit to the article, youre okay. I moderate a newpapers forum and as long as link and credit are in the post, its fine. FWIW I will do so in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/229 "2012-05-11T22:21:38Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > Im a conservative? Wow. I guess Conservatives are now Pro Choice. Expect analysis there . Okay, I’m expecting that analysis any time now. 😃 > [@](#): > > This response is an example of a one way kool aid thinker believing in the > > “If youre not one of us, you must be one of them” Oh, so you posted a dishonest polemic by the most partisan carbunkle on the ass of conservatism so that you could show us… what again? > [@](#): > > So because Ben repeated what Obama said, that means Obama lied? Can you ferret out that logic for me, it kind of escapes me. It escapes you because you’re not thinking hard. The article is an attempt to paint something in the worst light. It’s dishonest. > [@](#): > > Bull crap. Ive seen the damage drugs do to others. I was a paramedic for 6 years in East LA and Watts. This has to be one of the most moronic statements I have seen on this board Casual drug use isn’t the worst thing evar. As a paramedic, I’d expect you have basic reasoning abilities. Obama wasn’t a crack-whore. He was a college kid that experimented. > [@](#): > > My post wasnt about just Obama, it was about how everyone makes poor mistakes as a kid. And minor drug use isn’t the same thing as publicly restraining, assaulting and humiliating an “sissy”. Can you understand that much? > [@](#): > > Thanks for playing Thanks for letting me win. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/230 "2012-05-11T22:59:33Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Okay, I’m expecting that analysis any time now. 😃 Damn typo flames. You got me there > [@](#): > > Oh, so you posted a dishonest polemic by the most partisan carbunkle on the ass of conservatism so that you could show us… what again? So, repeating what is in Obamas book as a comparison is dishonest? Now, I havent read his book, but if the data is accurate how does that make it dishonest? > [@](#): > > It escapes you because you’re not thinking hard. The article is an attempt to paint something in the worst light. It’s dishonest. On the contrary, it escapes you because youre not thinking at all It is a comparison piece meant to sling mud just like the Mitt piece. > [@](#): > > Casual drug use isn’t the worst thing evar. As a paramedic, I’d expect you have basic reasoning abilities. Obama wasn’t a crack-whore. He was a college kid that experimented. Did I say it was the worst thing ever? Tell ya what, when you scrape people off the pavement, come back and see me. Your statement was wrong. Its okay to admit that. I admitted my typo > [@](#): > > And minor drug use isn’t the same thing as publicly restraining, assaulting and humiliating an “sissy”. Can you understand that much? Sure I understand that much. Ive done bad things when I was young. BTW, having never used drugs myself, I dont see its use as minor. But that is perception. Apparently, Mitt is evil, still today, because of what he did as a kid Obama has grown up and is a mature better man having overcome what he did as a kid. And the difference between the two is who you vote for. I see a lot more clearly then you believe. > [@](#): > > Thanks for letting me win. Apparently, you dont know the score ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/231 "2012-05-11T23:09:13Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > His political opponent’s illicit drug use is MUCH more recent history and I don’t care about that either. I find it bizarre to equate drug use with violent assault, how would you feel if someone held you down and forcibly cut your hair? This isn’t calling a kid a fag decades ago, this is rather disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/232 "2012-05-11T23:09:52Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > My post wasnt about just Obama, it was about how everyone makes poor mistakes as a kid. Yes, everyone makes mistakes as a kid. They even make mistakes when they are 18 years old, as Romney was when he got some friends to pin down a smaller, younger boy and chopped his hair off. > [@dngnb8](#): > > But doing dumb stuff as a kid isnt new and exciting. I don’t believe I ever said it was new and exciting. I believe I am disgusted with how Romney is handling it NOW. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/233 "2012-05-11T23:15:22Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > Apparently, Mitt is evil, still today, because of what he did as a kid > > Obama has grown up and is a mature better man having overcome what he did as a kid. > > And the difference between the two is who you vote for. > > I see a lot more clearly then you believe. > > Apparently, you dont know the score Apparently you cannot read. Mitt is not evil. He did something very unpleasant to someone else when he was a young man. When this is brought up THIS WEEK, his response is to say “I forgot” and to deliver a lame-ass “apology”. This is what makes him a poor excuse for a man. Not because of what he did as a “kid”, but what he did this week as a man. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/234 "2012-05-11T23:21:04Z")
So we’re condemning him for something he may have done as a teenager…yikes. So no one upset about Obama just fabricating characters in his book or do we let that pass? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/235 "2012-05-11T23:27:02Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > So we’re condemning him for something he may have done as a teenager…yikes. > > So no one upset about Obama just fabricating characters in his book or do we let that pass? No, actually if you are reading, you will see that the problem is with how Romney is handling it NOW. “I forgot” is rather pathetic, and shows what his character is like NOW. And I love how you slip in “he MAY have done”. Nice one. Get that directly from anyone or is it your own? ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/236 "2012-05-11T23:30:51Z")
If by “fabricating characters” you mean including a disclaimer that some characters are actually composites of various people then no, I’m not too upset. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/237 "2012-05-11T23:48:03Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I find it bizarre to equate drug use with violent assault, how would you feel if someone held you down and forcibly cut your hair? Holding someone down and cutting their hair is a dick move perpetrated by a collossally self-centered personality with limited capacity for empathy. Violent assault involves severe, lasting bodily harm and a direct and believable threat to life and limb (hair is not technically a limb and it grows back). Considering Mitt’s actions as ‘violent assault’ dilutes the term and does a disservice to every fag who ever got his ass beat to a pulp by a gang of thugs. And you’re the twit who is equating drug use with bullying. I was pointing to irresponsible behavior, which is one of the things people prefer to avoid in a national leader. I’m not really in the mood today to have some pissant cuntwaffle twist the meaning of what I say. > [@grude](#): > > This isn’t calling a kid a fag decades ago, this is rather disturbing. To you, perhaps, but not for anything approaching a valid reason as far as I can see. As I suggested upthread, the event itself indicates only that Mitt was a creep 50-60 years ago. Holding Mitt today accountable for something he did before his frontal lobes were even done developing is stupid and draws attention away from his more legitemate and recently demonstrated flaws. For instance, focus instead on the lily-livered spinelessness demonstrated by how he dealt with the story as it broke. A man would have owned it, shown remorse, explained how he’d already reconciled with the kid, and illuminated the substantial work he’s done as a governor and church member advocating tolerance and condemning petty violence. He can’t do any of that, THAT’S the only glimmer of relevance I can see in this whole nonstory–that, whatever Mitt was in 1960, in 2012 he still has no character. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/238 "2012-05-11T23:59:04Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Holding someone down and cutting their hair is a dick move perpetrated by a collossally self-centered personality with limited capacity for empathy. Violent assault involves severe, lasting bodily harm and a direct and believable threat to life and limb (hair is not technically a limb and it grows back). Considering Mitt’s actions as ‘violent assault’ dilutes the term and does a disservice to every fag who ever got his ass beat to a pulp by a gang of thugs. Uh you do realize how traumatized most people are about unconsensual hair cutting right? Ever see military inductees faces? ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/239 "2012-05-12T00:01:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > For those who say this is disqualifying, or at least indicative of a lasting character flaw for Romney, did you vote for Clinton in 1996, after it was known what he did to Paula Jones? How do you reconcile these positions? I voted for Bob Dole in 1996. And, yes, character was an issue for me. I had voted for Clinton in 1992, but voting against him in 1996 was an easy decision for me. Because of his high character, I seriously considered voting for John McCain in 2008. Then he nominated Palin for VP and made my decision easy. I had my doubts about Obama’s depth of experience, but Biden was safe, Palin anything but. After recent events, it has become abundantly clear the presidential candidate with strongest character is President Obama. Mittens doesn’t come close. Not even in the same ballpark. That is not the main issue, but it is an important one. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/240 "2012-05-12T00:04:01Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > As I suggested upthread, the event itself indicates only that Mitt was a creep 50-60 years ago. More like 1965 so 47 years ago. I know, picky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582.md?page=13)