# Why doesn't Romney say "no, that never happened" instead of "I don't recall that"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 14, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821 "2012-05-14T00:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/61 "2012-05-14T19:31:18Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > [ul][li] Clinton suffers from asthma (or severe allergies mimicking asthma).[/li][li] Deep inhaling may be contraindicated with asthma or allergy-caused bronchitis.[/li][li] College students often smoked socially just to fit in.[/li][/ul] > So yes, that Clinton didn’t inhale is quite plausible, though hardly certain. I didn’t inhale the first several times that I smoked pot. (I eventually learned though.) It’s totally plausible. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/62 "2012-05-14T19:58:51Z")
What the hell did you do then, blow it out the other end? ---
**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 14, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/63 "2012-05-14T20:01:49Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > At least he didn’t say that “bangs were cut” back then. How about “pranks were played”? > [@](#): > > As for pranks that were played back then, I don’t remember them all ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/64 "2012-05-14T20:11:05Z")
If Romney regularly engaged in that type of behavior, I could totally understand him forgetting about it. It’s just a mundane incident from his past. If it doesn’t stand out, it could easily be forgotten. I remember watching some show where a bully and his victim were reunited. The victim recounted many incidents where he was bullied, yet the bully could not remember a single one of them. The victim was able to recall many details of each incident (i.e. I was playing a video game at the convenience store and you poured a coke on my head). Maybe the bully really did remember, but I got the impression that he didn’t. That type of behavior was normal to him, so why should he remember each time he did something like that? It probably happened all the time. For those of us who aren’t like that, those incidents really stand out. There’s no way we’d forget if we did something like that. It would be as if someone accused me of tying a dog to my car and driving on the highway. It’s so out of character for me that there’s no way I would forget it. But if someone asked if I remembered that time I put my dog in the car and drove to 7-11 for a slurpee, I’d probably say I didn’t recall. Even if I couldn’t remember that incident, it seems like something I would do. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/65 "2012-05-14T20:51:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > What the hell did you do then, blow it out the other end? It went in my mouth but I didn’t inhale it into my lungs. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/66 "2012-05-14T20:54:31Z")
> **[inhale](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/inhale)** > > Definition, Synonyms, Translations of inhale by The Free Dictionary > [@](#): > > 1. To draw (air or smoke, for example) into the lungs by breathing. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/67 "2012-05-14T21:29:56Z")
Yeah, guess I’m just curious why anyone who isn’t an undercover cop would do that, or why it would take “several times” to figure out you’re supposed to inhale when you smoke. This is a hijack, however, so I can live with my puzzlement if need be. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/68 "2012-05-14T21:37:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [Modding] > > Moving this to Elections from Great Debates. > > [/Moderating] > > I mentioned this in another thread, but Romney’s comments were designed to get the story in the rear view mirror as quickly as possible. He apologized, which was the right thing to do even though many people would find his apology unsatisfying and self-servingly vague. He didn’t deny the events because it would have started a public argument that would have kept the story in the news even longer. (And the evidence suggests they did happen.) He said he didn’t remember the incident because if he’d said he remembered it, he would’ve had to take more questions about it, and that also would have kept the story in the news. That seems more plausible than my theory. ---
**Author:** ![Cheryl44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@Cheryl44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheryl44)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/69 "2012-05-14T21:48:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think it’s because he sincerely doesn’t realize there was ever anything wrong with what he did. He’s just learned that people are upset by it, but he doesn’t know _why_, so all he can do is squirm around weaselly until he’s squirmed into a position that people stop complaining about. OR, his people don’t want him to admit what he did was wrong. Being wrong about harassing the gays is off-putting to a certain segment of the GOP, one that already doesn’t like Romney and might be sitting this one out. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/70 "2012-05-14T22:09:04Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Yeah, guess I’m just curious why anyone who isn’t an undercover cop would do that, or why it would take “several times” to figure out you’re supposed to inhale when you smoke. I don’t know what to tell you other than I didn’t. I smoked it like most people smoke a cigar. I don’t think that it’s that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/71 "2012-05-14T22:12:45Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I don’t think that it’s that unusual. Get your cheeks nicely stoned? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/72 "2012-05-15T10:28:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I smoked it like most people smoke a cigar. I don’t think that it’s that unusual. The guy you passed it to probably didn’t enjoy the wet, chewed end you handed him.😃 ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/73 "2012-05-15T13:43:53Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The guy you passed it to probably didn’t enjoy the wet, chewed end you handed him.😃 And if Bill Clinton also meant “I used it like a cigar” by “I didn’t inhale,” the guy he handed the joint to must have been really ticked off. ---
**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 15, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/74 "2012-05-15T16:40:50Z")
Marley raised a good point. By saying he doesn’t remember the incident, Romney takes himself off the hook from having to personally answer any questions about the incident. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/75 "2012-05-15T18:09:06Z")
Can we turn this into “Mitt Romney–early Alzheimer’s?” Do we need another Reaganesque “Can’t Remember Shit” President? Or do we want a president with a fully functioning brain? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/76 "2012-05-15T18:14:55Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Can we turn this into “Mitt Romney–early Alzheimer’s?” I still think it should be turned into a discussion of his record and his policy ideas, but apparently it’s more important to prove he was a dick several decades ago. ---
**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 15, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/77 "2012-05-15T18:43:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I still think it should be turned into a discussion of his record and his policy ideas, but apparently it’s more important to prove he was a dick several decades ago. I realize that “it was so long ago, who cares” is the talking point du jour, but you may have missed that some folks are more concerned with how he’s handling it right now. Have you noticed that being brought up? “I can’t remember” is particularly lame. Is he lying for political advantage so he does not have to ask questions? This does not say much about his current character does it? His current character is pertinent when considering what kind of a leader he would be. Does he genuinely not remember? Then he is an unrepentant bully, who would do the same thing today if given the opportunity. Indeed, some have suggested that his behavior at Bain Capital (destroying firms, cutting salaries, firing people, while staying just this side of the law) was a form of adult bullying. Experts on bullying have been trying for some time to get people to acknowledge that these behaviors are not “pranks” or “boys will be boys”. These people’s actions deliver long-lasting damage. Romney, with his **recent** words and actions, has spat in the faces of these experts, and at anyone who was every bullied. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/78 "2012-05-15T18:52:28Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I realize that “it was so long ago, who cares” is the talking point du jour It’s not a talking point. It’s a sensible response to what is basically a trivial issue, and it’s the response I hope most people would have to a discussion of something nasty that a man in his mid-60s did in high school. > [@](#): > > you may have missed that some folks are more concerned with how he’s handling it right now. Have you noticed that being brought up? I’ve seen that “concern” brought up many times by people who want to keep an old and unimportant issue in the news, so I find it difficult to treat that concern as sincere. If the issue isn’t important, it’s hard for me to get worked up about how he deals with it. And that comes from someone who thinks the haircut thing was sadistic and that Romney is lying about not remembering it. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/79 "2012-05-15T18:58:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Or worse yet. He’s worried that a flat-out denial will encourage journalists to investigate and they’ll find out this wasn’t a unique incident. > > Think about it. Anyone know a high school bully who only got in one fight? Good point. Perhaps he doesn’t remember because this was just one of dozens of incidents. :eek: 😃 ---
**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 15, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821/80 "2012-05-15T19:02:07Z")
While I"m sure you don’t consider it to be a talking point, it certainly is being used as such by Romney’s political handlers, and it is being repeated ad nauseum throughout the web by the usual right-wing apologists. Which you are not, of course. “Forgot” or not, his team should be worried about whether or not more incidents are going to come to light in the future. Getting a group together, holding down a student and assaulting him is frequently not the sort of behavior that is a one-off. Romney has a pattern in his life of not really giving a shit about others, and I would not be surprised to hear of new incidents from his 20’s 30’s etc. More sophisticated bullying to be sure, but bullying (or “pranking”) nonetheless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-romney-say-no-that-never-happened-instead-of-i-dont-recall-that/621821.md?page=5)