Whether one considers Mitt Romney’s actions as a young man relevant or not in 2012, the story took on a life of its own yesterday, as the public got a better sense of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s personal background.
After the Washington Post reported that Romney, as an 18-year-old high-school senior, assaulted a younger classmate believed to be gay, the Romney campaign started reaching out to the school’s alumni to say nice things about the Republican to the media. That didn’t go well — ABC News talked to one former student who said Romney’s behavior was “evil” and “like Lord of the Flies.”
The controversy was made more complicated when, as Rachel explained last night, Romney reflected on the details of incidents he simultaneously claimed not to recall.
But as the day progressed, there was a sharper focus on far more contemporary events, which are clearly more relevant in the presidential race, and whether the Republican has a problem with gay people. The New York Times, for example, reported that Romney, during his Senate campaign, questioned whether gay men would make good Boy Scout leaders, implying that there’s a connection between homosexuality and pedophilia.
More relevant still were Romney’s actions as governor.









