Romney apologizes for high school bully pranks

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Mitt Romney is being attacked by liberals after the Washington Post ran an article about how he bullied a gay classmate who didn't fit in at his high school.

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Five of Romney's classmates from the exclusive Cranbrook prep school, including classmates who participated in the bullying, say Romney led other boys as they held down the classmate — who had returned from spring break with bleached blond hair — while Romney gave him a haircut. Romney taunted another closeted gay student by yelling "Atta girl!" in English class, the story says.

Romney apologized after the article was published for pranks he led that "might have gone too far," though he says does not remember that particular incident.

"Back in high school, I did some dumb things, and if anybody was hurt by that or offended, obviously I apologize for that," Romney told Fox News. "I participated in a lot of hijinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far, and for that I apologize."

The timing of the Romney bullying story raises questions, as it comes just after Obama endorsed gay marriage and North Carolina passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions.

Implicit in the story is the idea that Romney bullied the student because he was gay. Anti-gay bullying campaigns are prominent among gay rights groups in the US.

Romney says he "certainly" did not "believe the fellow was homosexual." "That was the furthest thing from our minds back in the 1960s," he said.