Did young Mitt Romney attack fellow student in Cranbrook dorm hazing?
Romney’s non-denial denial. Why can’t he just say something like: Like a lot of kids, I was an arrogant little snot when I was 17 and I deeply regret what happened with John Lauber at Cranbrook?
For whatever else, Mitt Romney seems like a basically decent guy. People would probably react sympathetically to a heartfelt statement of regret about a big mistake made nearly a half-century ago when Romney was still a kid. The vague "mistakes we're made" shtick isn't quite so authentic.
Instead we’re left to imagine that, deep down, Mitt Romney is some Col. Jessup villain who wants nothing more than tell the world about his Cranbrook exploits.
Romney: You want answers?
Reporter: I want the truth!
Romney: You can't handle the truth! [pauses] Son, we went to a school that has traditions, and those traditions have to be guarded by men with scissors. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Lauber, and you curse the Cranbrook jocks. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Lauber’s haircut, while tragic, protected our school’s reputation. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, protects the school’s reputation. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me in that dorm, you need me in that dorm. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending a privileged birthright. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very elitism that I embody, and then questions the manner in which I embody it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up some scissors, and haze an underclassman. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
Reporter: Did you order the haircut?
Romney: I did the job I...
Reporter: Did you order the haircut?
Romney: You're Goddamn right I did!
Chills. -- JTW
