Romney again insists he doesn't recall bullying incident but admits he did ‘stupid things' in high school
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Mitt Romney insisted again that he has no recollection of an incident in which he allegedly bullied a classmate who was suspected to be gay, but repeated an apology for "stupid things" he did in high school.
"I don't recall the incident myself," Romney told Fox News's Neil Cavuto, adding that he did not "dispute" the reporting. "I did some stupid things when I was in high school."
Romney insisted he "had no idea what the individual's sexual orientation might be" and told Cavuto that reports to the contrary are "simply just not accurate."
Asked if the story was a distraction from his campaign, Romney did not lay blame specifically on this rivals for the story, but told Fox News that he expects supporters of President Obama to wave "shiny objects" in the air between now and November to distract from the economy and other issues in the campaign.
Asked about Obama's shift on gay marriage, Romney again reaffirmed that he believes marriage should be strictly defined as "between a man and a woman." He called for a "national standard" to define marriage, but said states should enforce rules when it comes to "domestic partnerships."
Romney added that he is "fine" with gay couples adopting children but "to call that marriage is a real misleading of the word."
He told Cavuto that he hopes the issue of same sex marriage won't be an issue that drives campaign contributions for either him or Obama this fall.
"I hope the topic as tender and sensitive as marriage is not a source of fundraising," Romney said.
On a lighter note, Cavuto pressed Romney on whether he needs to pick a vice presidential running mate who is more "hip," "cool" or "looser" than he is.
Laughing, Romney replied, "I can sing!"
But he added that voters are still getting to know him as a presidential candidate, and implied that he might be looser than many expect.
"I don't think I'll play the president in a round of golf, but I'd be happy to take him through a water ski course," Romney said.
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