Poll: Mitt Romney is a 'Center-Right' Candidate

Ballot box stuffing

Passing fake delegate slates to confuse and dilute competitor's tally

Physically harming member(s) of the opposing campaign

Conducting incorrect/secret vote counts

Non-observance of proper procedure for orderly, impartial, and honest convention results

Ignoring proper procedures in adjourning convention(s) when competitor campaign seems likely to win said convention(s)

Smuggling "guests" into convention floor in order to stack delegate vote

Physically intimidating citizens who report witnessing acts of wrongdoing

Charging exorbitant "fees" ($250 - $500) as a prerequisite to becoming a delegate

Using media to distort public perception of what is really happening in the convention(s)

Just some of the tactics being used by the establishment GOP and the Romney campaign as they try to steal the 2012 Republican nomination race. In the midst of all this the Ron Paul campaign and its supporters are the ones disrupting and hijacking the contest? The media has largely turned a blind eye to all this and instead report on how Ron Paul supporters are the ones to blame.

Mathews Man of OR 1:24PM May 14, 2012

Romney's Lame response

Most importantly, Romney could have said something that indicated he had a conception of how horrible the assault must have been for John Lauber, the victim. His only mention of Lauber, who died in 2004, was to say "I had no idea what that individual's sexual orientation might be."

By referring to Lauber as "that individual" he makes Lauber a nameless figure, further distancing himself from the incident. Which is exactly the opposite of what he should have done. After all, it's the quality of empathy -- being able to see things from someone else's perspective and feel what they feel -- that Romney has had trouble convincing voters he possesses.

This problem comes up for Romney again and again, often in the form of "gaffes" that are usually taken out of context, but still reveal a tin ear for the lives people lead. To take just one example, when Romney said "I like being able to fire people that provide services to me," anyone who has ever been laid off recoiled in shock, whatever the context. Business owners and supervisors who have had to do the firing -- the humane ones, anyway -- know it can be a painful experience from the other side of the desk as well. It may be necessary at times, but you certainly wouldn't say you "like" it.

Perhaps Romney really doesn't remember the assault on John Lauber nearly a half-century ago, despite the fact that so many of the other people who were there have never forgotten it. Or perhaps he decided that claiming ignorance would be the safest course of crisis management. But what he said told people nothing about the man he is today and how he has changed and grown over that time. We're all different people than we were in our youth, and we all have regrets. The 17-year-old Mitt Romney may have been a privileged, entitled boy with a mean streak. The 65-year-old Mitt Romney missed an opportunity to convince us he's something different.

RichBitchMitch of CO 5:37PM May 13, 2012