Mitt Romney is quickly learning what it's like to be a legit presidential candidate, where anything is fair game and the press digs deep into your underwear drawer and childhood and pulls out stories that trigger headlines and controversy.
He's also learning about damage control.
On Thursday, he responded with an apology after an article in the Washington Post described him as a prep-school prankster who bullied a classmate. The report said that Romney, in 1965, led a group that forcibly cut the dyed-blond hair of a student at Crankbook School in Bloomfield Hills who was presumed to be gay.
Romney denied harboring any anti-gay feelings.
“I had no idea what that individual’s sexual orientation might be. Going back to the 1960s, that wasn’t something that we all discussed or considered, so that’s simply just not accurate,” he told Neil Cavuto of Fox News Channel. “I don’t recall the incident myself, but I’ve seen the reports and I’m not going to argue with that. There’s no question but that I did some stupid things when I was in high school and obviously if I hurt anyone by virtue of that, I would be very sorry for it and apologize for it.”
