BULLY FOR YOU, MITT ...!

I usually avoid using this space to talk about anything beyond the comings and goings at my friendly, neighborhood Starbucks, but something happened on Thursday that I find pretty disturbing.  News leaked out that a candidate for President -- someone vying to be the leader of the free world -- was a high school bully.  At the age of 18, Mitt Romney led a "posse" of fellow students at his exclusive, private school -- Cranbrook -- in a raid against a fellow student, John Lauber, just because he was "different."  Lauber had bleached his hair and was presumed to be gay.  As the Washington Post put it, "They came upon Lauber, tackled him and pinned him to the ground.  As Lauber, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors."  In another case, Romney's abuse was more prolonged:  Every time another boy -- also presumed gay -- answered a question in class, Romney shouted "atta Girl."  These things happened nearly fifty years ago, so could perhaps be excused, were it not for Romney's reaction when asked about it today.  At first his press secretary tried to deny the claims, and when that didn't work, Romney -- in a carefully chosen interview with Fox Radio -- chuckled, offered a half-hearted apology, and claimed he didn't remember anything.  Everyone else involved remembers the events vividly.  Those who Romney recruited to pin Lauber down are still remorseful after all these years.  Romney's victim -- who died of cancer in 2004 -- was haunted by it for the rest of his life.  But Romney laughs the whole thing off.  Until now, I've tried to give Romney the benefit of the doubt.  I've agreed with some of his positions -- that is until he changed them back and forth -- and simply assumed that he's doing what it takes to win an election.  Most politicians use the bully pulpit to tell everyone what they want to hear, but few are actual bullies.  Make no mistake, Romney's reaction to this story from 50 years ago was a test of character ... and he failed miserably.  I don't for a minute believe he forgot the incident, not when he had enough recall to conveniently deny that it was "gay-bashing."  Had he expressed remorse -- like everyone else involved -- it might be different.  But now I'm left wondering what sort of man he is.  Do we really want someone this callous getting his Mitts on our armed forces?  And what happens when he takes his famous scissors to the Social Security administration?  I'm still trying to keep an open mind, but the more I see, the less I like ...