Decision 2012: Romney Apologizes for High School Pranks

Mitt Romney apologized last week for incident that occurred 50 years ago when he was attending an elite private prep school. The Washington Post quoted his classmates about a incident where Romney found the long hair of a fellow student offensive. They said he led a group of students who tackled the student and held him down while Romney cut his hair. Romney said he didn't recall the incident, but he apologized saying, "I participated in a lot of high jinks and pranks during high school. And some may have gone too far."

Class discussion: Find editorials and columns about what is fair game in an election. Is it fair to bring up incidents that occurred in a candidate's youth? What would happen to students in your school if they pulled a "prank" like Romney and his classmates? Was it fair when some criticized President Barack Obama who wrote that he ate a dog meat dish when he was a child living in Indonesia? Should private lives be scrutinized like a candidate's public actions and statements?