Even though CNN's Suzanne Malveaux admitted she had no clue what Mitt
Romney actually did in high school, she and a guest psychologist tried
to speculate away on Friday afternoon's Newsroom. The conclusion: Romney
may not recall the incident he has been accused of, but his apology for
it reveals the probability of guilt for a "very violent" act of
forcibly cutting someone's hair.
"I have no idea what Romney did or didn't do," Malveaux admitted
ignorance, before intoning that Romney was probably still in the wrong.
"[T]he bullies never recall what they did. I mean it's absolutely
astonishing the kids who tormented and taunted others seem to have no
idea as adults how their behavior actually impacted others," she noted.
In contrast, Malveaux gave Michelle Obama the benefit of the doubt [1]
during the 2008 campaign, where she asked softballs about the Obama's
affiliation with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and changed the subject when Obama
showed her obvious discomfort with the topic. CNN later hailed a
"steely-tough" Michelle Obama.
On Friday, both Malveaux and psychologist Jeff Gardere insinuated that
Romney, although he cannot recall the action, may have repressed it to
the point that his narrative was inconsistent.
[Video below. Audio here [2].]
"But I have to tell you and I have to be very honest about this, even
as a psychologist, I don't see something that was so vicious if it
happened, how you would forget that and how you would apologize for it
if you state that you couldn't even remember it," said Gardere. "But to
admit to apologizing it tells me that there is something brewing in
there in the head of Governor Romney."
Malveaux even brought up an assertion from Romney's classmate Phillip
Maxwell, that the action constituted an assault and it was "unfortunate"
that Romney had not yet admitted to it. As Breitbart.com pointed out,
the Washington Post story left out what Automobile Magazine [3] of all sources reported – Maxwell is a Democrat who said Romney would make a "pretty good president."
At the end, Gardere ramped up the stakes, calling the action "no laughing matter."
"And in these days, if something like that happened, that person would
be prosecuted perhaps for a hate crime, and god forbid, the victim of
that would become suicidal, depressed, and that person would be held to
task for that," he insisted. "And certainly it may have had an effect on
the victim of that particular event back then, all the way up until the
time that he actually passed away."
A transcript of the segment, which aired on May 11 on Newsroom at 12:17 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
SUZANNE MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney trying to shift the focus back to the
economy during a stop in North Carolina next hour. But Romney's also
facing some questions about something he's accused of doing years ago
when he was in high school. Classmates described another incident where
they say Romney and other students pinned down a boy and cut off chunks
of his hair. The boy had bleached-blonde hair, looked different than the
other students. And those involved say it went beyond bullying. Here's
how Romney responded.
(Video Clip)
MITT ROMNEY, Republican presidential candidate: 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.
(End Video Clip)
MALVEAUX: I want to bring in our clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere to
talk about this. Jeff, quite frankly and honestly, I have no idea what
Romney did or didn't do. But the one thing that I find and many people
I've talked to today is you go to your high school reunion, and the
bullies never recall what they did. I mean it's absolutely astonishing
the kids who tormented and taunted others seem to have no idea as adults
how their behavior actually impacted others. Is that actually typical?
JEFF GARDERE, clinical psychologist: Yeah it could be typical, because
it's a situation of where as they mature in life, they become very
embarrassed by those sorts of actions, and if they end up becoming
better persons, it's easy to repress some of those horrible things that
they did when they were younger so that they can have a more stabilized
and normal view of themselves as being productive citizens.
MALVEAUX: Well this guy, Phillip Maxwell, he was a classmate of
Romney's at the school back in 1965. And he says he participated in this
event. And he brings up two points. First of all, he says it's hard for
him to believe that Romney doesn't remember the event. He says "It's
unfortunate that Mitt simply hasn't owned up to his behavior." Is it
possible that he really doesn't recall what happened here in this
incident?
GARDERE: Yeah it's possible that he may not recall some of the
incidents, but the fact that he apologizes for it anyway tells me from a
clinical point of view that there was something that he may have some
memories of, but again, may not want to even admit it to himself. And
when we look at this, as far as a psychological mechanism, this is what
we call repressing. Repressing to the point of where we push it to our
unconscious.
MALVEAUX: Is it admit it to himself, or admit it to us?
GARDERE: Well I think he doesn't want to admit it to himself, if in
fact it did happen, because that does not fit the view that he has of
himself as being a person who provides public service. As a matter of
fact, we do hear that when he was in that school, his life changed where
he did a lot of community service. So there was some sort of
transformation from being this bully, if this in fact happened, to
someone who is much more useful at his school.
MALVEAUX: Let's talk about that transformation, because you're
absolutely right. There are other classmates who have come to his
defense and they say look, that was a time too when he met Ann, who
would later become his wife, and that he matured, and that it is
possible to go from someone who was perhaps doing those kinds of things
to someone who is very caring and very loving and very service-oriented.
Is that typical? Can you really change?
GARDERE: Yeah, you absolutely can change. This is something that
happened 50 years ago. We don't see that kind of a person now, though we
know he certainly does not have the most progressive ideas as to
same-sex marriages. But I have to tell you and I have to be very honest
about this, even as a psychologist, I don't see something that was so
vicious if it happened, how you would forget that and how you would
apologize for it if you state that you couldn't even remember it. You
would just simply say I don't remember it, I didn't do it. But to admit
to apologizing it tells me that there is something brewing in there in
the head of Governor Romney. And I he's embarrassed about it as he
should be. And that is appropriate.
MALVEAUX: So you see something that's inconsistent in his story there,
trying to square those two things. I also want to bring up the fact that
his classmate Maxwell says, and I'm quoting here, he says "I'm not a
lawyer. I know what assault is. This kid," the alleged victim, "was
scared. He was terrified. That's an assault." We've heard a lot about
Mitt Romney loving to prank, carry out these pranks. What is the
difference between a prank and bullying?
GARDERE: Well we heard about some of the pranks, once where there was a
teacher that – who was visually impaired that walked into a door and
laughed uncontrollably, giggled about it. That's a prank. But to hold
another student down along with a bunch of students and cut that
student's hair because you feel that he may be effeminate or may be gay,
that is not a prank. That is a deliberate action, that is something
that is very violent. And in these days, if something like that
happened, that person would be prosecuted perhaps for a hate crime, and
god forbid, the victim of that would become suicidal, depressed, and
that person would be held to task for that. So we can laugh about that,
perhaps he could laugh about it, others could laugh about it, but this
is something that is no laughing matter, especially if it happened
today. And certainly it may have had an effect on the victim of that
particular event back then, all the way up until the time that he
actually passed away.