It was Romney who decided that the faults of youth were fair political game

[bigtree]

. . . when he made such a big deal out of 11 year-old Obama being urged to try dog meat by his father.

Now he doesn't have the courtesy of leaving his youth out of the political debate. He'll have to live with and answer for each and every youthful indiscretion, prank, and outrage raised by our campaign.

He didn't catch a clue when he doubled down on taking President Obama's statements out of context for his political ads and was smacked full-force in the face with his own, well-known and documented, reflexive style of prevarication.

Of course, he's counting on folks out there just accepting that he's an inveterate liar and a bully and just ignoring it, like folks have ignored it for years. This time, however, he's been chosen by republican voters as the face of their party in this election. He's going to find that folks won't just turn away and ignore all of that, now that he's in a position to do more than serve as the face of the long ski jump and the bobsledding competition.

[exboyfil]

1. I went back into the archives this morning and found a

front page story in the New York Times about Obama's drug use run during the the 2008 primary. The story appeared to follow the same line as the Cranbook bully story. Go back and talk to his former classmates. They thought the drug use was even less than a big deal than Obama thought it was in his book.

Obama did a masterful job of immunizing himself from criticism by owning up to his prior actions in his autobiography. Romney does not have a clue (besides would you rather deal with someone who occassionally does drugs or someone who assaults another person because of his appearance). The reason the bully has legs is that Romney can't find any credible defenders (his one had already graduated before the incident occurred), the incident (and the others) were marked by cruelty, and Romney said possibly the second stupidest thing he could say (I don't remember - the stupidest would be he deserved it). Now everyone one is wondering, if you can't remember that, then what else did you do? He would have been better with a flat out denial (which still has problems).

[bigtree]

2. it is his response to the stories which is just smacking him back silly

Ruth Marcus gives her take on his response to the bully reports today:

RUTH MARCUS: Romney's brush-off of assault speaks volumes
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20120514/OPINION02/305140005/RUTH-MARCUS-Romney-s-brush-off-assault-speaks-volumes

[Politicalboi]

3. They've been picking on Obama's youth

Saying he went to school in a Madrases, father was Muslim, oh and his birth certificate. All's fair in love and war, and this is war. I hope more of Rmoney's victims speak up.

[Diclotican]

4. Politicalboi

Politicalboi

It is never easy to stand up, and speak out if you have been bullied - even after many years... It took me years and years to be able to "confront" some of my bullies, and ask a simple questing as "why"... I really never got any answer, but at least the other guy had some remorse for what he did - and he was not even one of the worst who bullied me, rather he was just one of the many who was on the sidelines when it happened...

But, I hope more stand up, and speak out about what happened before.. What little I know about mr Romney is not for the better of him.. Rather the opposite....

Diclotican

[gratuitous]

5. It is rather odd . . .

The Republicans indulge their dark ego in ferreting out anything from a Democrat's past, and make a big stink out of virtually nothing. The dog meat story is a good example. But when the tables are turned, and it's time for a little scrutiny of a Republican's past (youthful or not-so-youthful), suddenly the rules are changed, and it's just oh, so out of bounds to be bringing up a man's own words and actions to use against him.

The proper response is to simply laugh. I'm reminded of the late Secret Service scandal with prostitutes in Colombia. One of the working women in question was being interviewed, and the interviewer asked whether the prostitute hadn't "lured" or "enticed" the poor, naive agent into an assignation? The prostitute, unaccustomed to the ways of U.S. television, didn't try to explain just how dumb the question was or indignantly defend herself. Instead, she just gave the interviewer a horse laugh that said more than any words could have communicated.

[kskiska]

6. I think Obama was 6

in the dog meat story. That's really going back. Then there was the "madrassa" story.

[tblue37]

7. In the 2008 election, didn’t they actually go after Obama for

a grade school essay that they say showed him being all ambitious and “plotting” to become president even at that young age?