Did Mitt Romney assault a prep school classmate?

That was a campaign ad. I'm not defending it.

 

Folklore. Never happened.

 

Long after the ad that story ran everywhere in every paper on sourcing exactly as thin as that you describe.

 

I'm not going to defend anything that has to do with Swift Boat or any of the birther bullshit.

That doesn't mean running this story was the right thing to do.

 

Do you think the Washington Post would have risked running it if they didn't have it?

 

Who cares if it never happened. The papers would report on the rumor, then G-W's denials, then interview some cherry tree experts, followed by some child psychologists who would discuss George's daddy issues.

 

Like the fact that he hadn't had one around in forever?

 

I don't know how insightful this story is to Romney's character, if it's even accurate. But multiple sources gave their accounts independently, and even though one of the sources helped the Obama campaign, and most were democrats, it doesn't automatically make the story false.

Do newspapers report on events that happened decades ago? Yes.

Do newspapers report on assaults involving 17 and 18 year olds. Yes.

Do newspapers report on stories in which a key person is dead. Yes.

What are the chances a gay kid in 1965 goes to the cops for being bullied? What are the chances that kids get away with being terrible to other kids.

Again, I don't know that this event says a lot about Romney now, but you seem to be reaching for anything to discredit the story as a partisan hack job. I understand your skepticism, but it's not like the Post is ethically out of line.

It has been my experience that big stories have a way of publishing at relevant times, even though its not usually intentional.

 

Lots of stuff that wasn't treated as that big of a deal back then is considered to be a helluva big deal now. Exhibit A: Drinking and driving. Exhibit B: underage drinking.

 

Hell, if I told my kids how, as a toddler, I would ride in the front seat without a seatbelt, they would be shocked I lived to see today.

 

Kids riding bikes without their "My parents are wimps" helmets.

 

Just from the story, they had four people independently confirming the story.

I don't see how you don't run it.

It doesn't read like a barbered hatchet job. We all know what those read like.