I have to say, I'm honestly surprised by the story about Romney bullying a kid in high school. Up until now I've thought of Romney as kind of an odd bird, and of course someone with a profoundly different worldview than my own... but not as a bad person per se. However if this incident was of so little significance to Romney that he truly doesn't remember doing it, or if he does remember it but simply doesn't think it was a big deal, then I would certainly have to revise that opinion. Being cruel to others simply because they are different is the mark of a true lack of character in my book. Sure, it was a long time ago, and he may have changed since then, but if that's the case I would like to hear something about this supposed personal transformation. Instead, judging from his initial response to the allegations, he seems to find it amusing.
Jamison Foser has a post on the topic I really think everyone should read. And Ruth Marcus makes some similar points here.
It's interesting that the WaPo delayed publishing the story a day so it wouldn't appear alongside the story of Obama's decision to support gay marriage. I understand why they'd want to avoid appearing to make a special point of contrasting the two candidates... but it should be said that that's exactly the contrast we should all be considering at this moment. In terms of being able to empathize with people different from themselves, the candidates truly could not be more different from each other.
On the plus side for Mitt, though, this should finally solidify his support on the right.
In other news, we lost two greats last week: Maurice Sendak, creator of Where the Wild Things Are, and Adam Yauch, "MCA" of the Beastie Boys. If you haven't seen Stephen Colbert's interview with Sendak, do yourself and watch it (in two parts):
Here's a nice fan-made video for MCA's reflection on the search for meaning, "I Don't Know":
