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Opening Arguments

Waiting to exhale

Another reason I don't like Mitt Romney:

According to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Survey, in 2007 about half of high school seniors had used an illegal drug. More than seven of 10 seniors had consumed alcohol, and 55% had been drunk. In fact, 44% drank alcohol in the past month. These figures rise and fall over the years: In 1980, the spring of Mr. Obama's 18th year, two-thirds of seniors had used an illicit drug and more than 70% had consumed alcohol in the past month.

There has been massive drug and underage alcohol use by Americans over the years--more than 110 million Americans, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, have used illicit drugs. Yet the overwhelming majority of them--like Messrs. Bush, Clinton and Obama--have grown up to be productive citizens. Some believe there's no need to know about their youthful misconduct.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney takes this one step further. "It's just not a good idea," he said, "for people running for president of the United States, who potentially could be the role model for a lot of people, to talk about their personal failings while they were kids, because it opens the doorway to other kids thinking, 'Well I can do that too.'"

Well, this is not the whole story. Neural research indicates that adolescent brains program kids to try risky behaviors. It is unlikely we will soon prevent large numbers of teens from drinking and using drugs. Yet, subtracting the approximately 20 million current drug users from the 110 million plus people who once used, almost 100 million Americans have left drugs behind. Perhaps it can be good for young people to learn that as they mature they can, and will, straighten out and fly right?

Romney is turning out to be the Slick Willie of this campaign, always with a glib explanation for why he preached one way on certain things and now preaches the opposite message. "Not talking about our failings as kids to remain good role models" is just the Republican version of "I smoked but didn't inhale."

There are reasons not to like the idea of an Obama presidency, but his honesty about his childhood isn't one of them.

Comments

Craig
Thu, 01/03/2008 - 12:15am

Yeah, but is Huckabee just this year's Dean? If so, Romney wins Iowa, McCain NH. I could be wrong.

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