Romney: In the Bunker on Shooting Incident

This is merely a test of the Post's policy on editing/moderating online user comments.

I would hope that as a journalist, you would check the NRA website to verify the theory behind Sugarmann's comments. The NRA has a statement expressing sorrow for the incident as the very top link on their own website. I look forward to such a correction statement in the interest of presenting a fair picture rather than baseless assumptions.

Ron Paul says that more guns (not less) will solve the problem:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0407/3556.html
http://RonPaulReport.SquareSpace.com

To assume more gun control would have prevented this horrific crime is simplistic. The individual responsible knew where this would end up and knew his victims would be at his mercy. Whether or not he obtained his weapons legally or not doesn't matter...they are easier to buy illegally than legally in some places. He knew what he was going to do and probably knew about how long he would have to do it. Was there anything that the school staff knew about him that would have sent up warning flags that could have stopped this act?

Well, let`s see here. We`ve got 300 million people and 200 million guns, and gun violence is worsening. So we should get some more guns? First rule- when you`re in a hole, STOP DIGGING!

No guns, no deaths, no wars

Have you thought why this shootings ocurr more in small, peaceful,towns than in big cities?
Any studies about it?

It's the administration's fault..left.. err
right?

please remember that armed citizens PREVENT crime thru deterrence.

those stats cannot be quantified.

polling of convicted felons continues to demonstrated that the #1 deterrent is the criminals' knowledge of an armed citizen.

remember "gun control" only prevents honest citizens from possessing guns, not the criminal.

and if just one of the VTech student-victims, or a classmate, had been armed & returned fire, the outcome would've (arguably) been better.

BTW, I'm a indie voter, gulf1 vet, college grad, & single dad raising 2 daughters so please don't pigeon-hole me as a winger.

From http://www.solidpolitics.com

Change of heart.... When a gunman shot seven people on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, Rudy Giuliani called for federal gun control.... When a gunman killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, Rudy Giuliani says never mind....

In sending out a press release while not placing a prominent statement on his website, it looks like Romney was trying hard to take a middle path wherein he could express personal sympathy without shamelessly politicizing such a tragic event. What's wrong with that?

Bull. Romney is pandering to the NRA. That is his M.O. or we wouldn not have so many examples of his positions changing to suit his electorate.

Instead of harping on gun control, how about we look at the fact that the faculty COULD NOT get this individual in to see a counselor. Why is it we, as a society, have allowed the rights of a few to outweigh our rights as society. Spare me the individualist talk, we have allowed this liberalization to continue to the point where all of society is at risk from those who need a psych's help.

No guns, no death (by hands other than organized armies), no war (freedom is taken without a whimper)

It is absolutely stupid to blame a gun for this. Why not outlaw alcohol, which causes far more deaths per year than 32.

The cause this horror, was a very disturbed person. It speaks highly of our society than such revulsion is still felt, stuff like this is happenstance in many nations in the world....you know, oh well, another day...another 500 hacked to death with machettes....

May our prayers be with the families of the victims, may God find mercy on thier souls, and may we as a country support them in any way we can in this hour of need.

Your attack is a lowball expression unworthy of your employer.

Are you really going to politicize this issue over the notion that Romney didn't politicize this?
http://www.mymanmitt.com/mitt-romney/2007/04/washpost-lowball-attack-on-romney.asp

I find your attempt at making the VT shootings a political issue repulsive. I have gained more respect for Mitt Romney for the way he has responded to the shootings. He quietly responded, not wanting to take away from the mourning and grief of those suffering at this time. In contrast I feel that while some of the comments by other candidates may have been sincere, I also have a tendency to wonder if the other candidates posted their condolences in order to again place the focus on themselves and the '08 presidential race. I question whether or not Rudy has ever met the students at VT before calling them the "Nation's finest". My prayers are with the victims, as well as their friends and family, and I find it disrespectful to them and to Mitt Romney.

I find it difficult to understand why reporters cannot report the truth instead of just "their truth". Mitt Romney has maintained that he has hunted more than twice in his life; just not when a license was required.

Just be honest!!

This business about how prominently the message is displayed on the home page is ridiculous. There are political issues here, but they are not Mitt's response. Try, whether in the post 9-11 world, non-citizens should be allowed to have guns. http://presidentmittromney.blogspot.com/2007/04/guns.html

I just wish he would make up his mind.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/19/romney_joined_nra_in_august/
Romney joined NRA in August

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/05/romneys_record_on_guns_questioned/
Romney's record on guns questioned

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/04/08/guns_trust_and_romney/
Guns, trust, and Romney

"We encourage users to analyze, comment on and even challenge washingtonpost.com's articles, blogs, reviews and multimedia features."

That's good, because this piece is worthy of being challenged. How could you in good conscience politicize something like this? These shootings make me sick to my stomach, and here you are going off because Mitt didn't put the shootings on the front page of his website. That is sheer stupidity.

My heart is with the families and friends who have had to deal with this tragedy that was made worse by the press and their incredible lack of any manners or feelings whatsoever.

I hope you're ashamed of yourself.

Hava

Making such a big deal about where a candidate posts his remarks about vt is just rediculous. He did a press release and has it available to veiw on his website. Anyone that can click a mouse can get his reaction. He cares just as much as the rest of them Rediculous!

Your entire premise in one line is this: Romney [according to you] is courting the NRA because he only sent out a press release and didn't leave it posted on his web site's front page like my favorite candidates.

Nice hit piece. It isn't news, you're deplorable for politicizing this, and you're not a "sleuth" for "digging" this useless analysis up. Unfortunately, you're simply pandering to the radical liberals on an emotional issue.

If you want to criticize someone, why don't you call on your fellow Democrats to vote for a complete ban on hand guns?...that's what I thought. You're a coward and a poor reporter relying on bias. Write something worthwhile next time...that is, of course, unless your liberal coffers won't let you think for yourself.

You're a political hack, Mary Ann. You are the type of reporter that would have flown down to Guatemala to track down a one time illegal immigrant who cut Romney's grass. Am I reading the Globe now?

Uh..Mary Ann, I believe Romney cancelled his fundraiser and sent a press release. The only one politicizing this is you. All of us know that all the candidates sit at their computers and edit their own websites. Speaking of which, sitting at a computer and searching each candidate's web site is not sleuthing, nor should copying and pasting a DNC press release be regarded as "journalism."

I didn't have to look, but I did anyway. Mary Ann is came from NPR. Why does that not surprise me? Just admit that you are thoroughly threatened by Mitt. It's too bad you libs can't hide from the internet these days. We can smell a rat agenda like this one a mile away.

Seen enuf,
Do you really think removing the right to bear and/or carry arms will remove guns from society. It only turns the populace into sheep. The reason these tragedies happen in places like schools is because we aren't allowed to LEGALLY carry there. The criminals are emboldened by the knowlege that they can acheive their objective with minimal resistance. You don't see a guy walk into a shopping mall in the south and start shooting people because many of us carry legally in the south and he/she'd be just as likely to die without acheiving anything except assisted suicide. That's reality. Criminals are cowards who seek opportunity. Remove the opportunity...

Since Romney is supposed-lie a "great white hunter"... I presume that he'd rather not make any commentary on the VT shootings. It might force him to take a stand on gun control issues. So... when in doubt, say nothing; this is why his website is "Morman mum" tighter than Carl Rowe's e-mail account.

Butt what Romney might say is irrelevant. The shootings at VT clearly manifests Amerika's culture of violence. And Vietnam and Iraq-nam manifests how eager we are to export our violent culture to other lands. Bush, of course, is the paragon example of this. He was governor of the death penalty $tate before becoming "Commander and Chief emperor in Iraq-nam. His style is typically Tex-asss: shoot first, dialogue later. It doesn't get anymore Amerikan that that!

I am not even joking in saying that I wonder how you remain employed at the Washington Post after writing tripe like that - perhaps fitting for a tabloid, but even that is a stretch.

Romney took a dignified approach, and even canceled a Virginia fundraising event out of respect for those affected by Monday's events.

More amazing than your bombastically politicized and nonsensical article is that you apparently believe that such attempts are going to actually hurt Romney rather than help him.

You give your readers little credit, and reasonable minded people, even if they disagree with Romney from a policy standpoint, can see through your dime-a-dozen type cheap shot, not to mention your crass opportunism in the wake of a truly heartbreaking national tragedy.

There is a healthy way to 'politicize' this tragedy and that would be to take a hard look at the way our country regards mental illness. The fact that there continues to be significant disparity in insurance coverage between mental health care and 'physical' health care speaks volumes about where society is in terms of accepting mental health issues as the real disease they are - chemical imbalances in the brain, not character disorders. Many fine people work hard to deal with depression or bi-polar disorder every day. Many more do not have access to the care they need.

When insurance companies are required to cover mental health care as thoroughly as other aspects of medical care - by letting the providers dictate how many sessions a person needs and whether or not inpatient services are required rather than an arbitrary number set by insurers - we may begin to see some improvements. And of course, this speaks to the need for universal health care in the first place.

There are mental health advocacy groups that can help average citizens be involved, among them dbsaalliance.org and nami.org. They also provide education and support for individuals dealing with mental illness and their families.

Perhaps a growing number of people will be stunned enough from the tragedy at Virginia Tech to focus not only on gun laws, but the need for our nation to take seriously our paltry health care system.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't! I can't beleive you have a job with this tripe! Romney took a dignified approach with a simple press release and you blast him. If he would have put something on his website he would be blasted for that too. This is a prime example media bias. Thank God we have cable news and talk radio! And you probaly want to know why people are turning traditional news sources off and tunning in to FOX and talk radion for the real stories without your agenda driven garbage!

What a lame article Ms. Akers. It is amazing to me that you would take the time to try and create something out of nothing and spend all that time searching sites to compare during such an important time in our nation. And then to effectively congratulate the politicians who made the big splash as if to make us all think that these politicians all of a sudden were out of campaign mode! Shame on you. Romney's understated manner was gracious and dignified. Shame on you for even trying to find dirt on people at this time of our grieving.

Those who can make you believe absurdities will always make you commit atrocities. We shouldn't be simplistic on this matter and must turn to reason. Blaming anyone or guns in general will take us nowhere. A little wisdom would do!

Based on this article, The Sleuth is definitely a misnomer. For one thing, you're technically a news reporter and your job is to report the news, not twist a bare minimum of facts to suit your own agenda. For another thing, if you want to earn the name of sleuth, you might round out your cited sources a bit better.

Romney did cancel a Virginia fundraiser he had scheduled and he did issue a statement. He's simply chosen to respect the grief of the families, school, and community by not capitalizing on the VT tragedy. Furthermore, it's ridiculous to condemn a politician even if they would choose to forego a public statement on such a tragedy at all; of course they're shocked and concerned and trying to understand how such tragedy came to pass, just like any other mentally/emotionally healthy person.

Wow. This is clearly a heated and controversial issue. There are both rational discussions, from multiple sides, and party talking points represented here.

My point is that if there were this type of discourse everywhere, maybe incidents like this would not happen. We are a cloistered society who walk along our routine paths without a look at the people around us, or at the events that shape their lives. Perhaps, if we accept responsibility for this as a society, and work to open lines of communication, we can create a safer nation for us all to live in.

Guns have no will; guns can not make decisions; and guns, in and of themselves, do not shape our culture. To blame -- or absolve the blame of -- guns is to ignore the real issue.

Mary Ann Akers,

SHAME ON YOU! Couldn't you think of something better to write about. Couldn't you write a memorial or kind words about the victims?

People like you that choose to bash others are no different than the shooter. Hurting others because you don't have the same beliefs or understanding.

This is not a week for politics is a week of morning.

Mary Ann has no class.

Mary Ann in no better than NBC. Selfish and only thinks of themselves and ratings.

MS AKERS YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE. YOUR SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME WITH THE LEFT. THE ONLY THING THEY KNOW HOW TO DO IS ABORT BABIES, HAVE AFFAIRS, WASTE MONEY ON $400 DOLLAR HAIRCUTS, SUPPORT ALAEDA AND PAY FOR LAZY PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO WORK.

Romney had a mental health disaster in Massachusetts, similar to this one.

This is what he said: ""As the Haleigh Poutre case demonstrates, errors in human judgment occur. What is unusual is how many people involved in Haleigh's care - medical professionals, case workers and administrators from many disciplines - made errors. I welcome new systems and processes that will identify and guard against circumstances where human error may have severe consequences."

This article reeks of paranoia. I have just one question: why is the media so afraid of Mitt Romney?

I thought this article was pretty lame and biased. I'm not one to jump too quickly on the "mainstream media conspiracy," but I thought even this was pretty low. I would much rather a politician make a quiet, meaningful statement than have them waive their own grief like a banner. In saying that, I don't necessarily mean to imply that's what the other campaigns are doing. This is a tragedy, not an opportunity to write a hit piece! Come on, lady. Get some class.

So you say a canidate should go after votes and use politics in this horrible situation. I am glad Romney is not using this to stump his position and get votes or money. I guess you think Mr Edwards was correct in telling the world about his wifes cancer reoccurance and then when people used their email to write well wishes they sent emails back asking for money.

I think Mitts way is much better.

And, the republicans called John Kerry a "FLIP - FLOPPER!" ROMENY, IS MORMON - DON'T TRUST HIM AT ALL! WILL LIE TO YOU AND CHANGE EVERYTHING AROUND TO MAKE YOU BELIEVE EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS TRUTH!!!!!
THIS COUNTRY DOES NOT AND I MEAN NOT A MORMON PRESIDENT - YOU'LL BE SORRY!!!! MARK MY WORDS!!!!!

Utah! Do you hate all religions or just the Mormon religion? People that have no tolerance for others beliefs are no different than the gunman that killed 32 people, the jews that crucified Christ, the men that caused the 911 tragedy. People with that much hate for another religion end up spiraling out of control and eventually hurt innocent people.

Watch out for Utah! He is sending up many red flags. Better no sell him a gun.

Utah:

Mormons (in general) are the most decent group of human beings I've ever met. Mitt's executive experience and natural leadership ability will make him a fabulous president

Sounds to me like you're just frustrated because the hot Utah Mormon babes won't go out with you. Try growing up, or get some class, or both.

I agree with Utah! It's important that someone with a different belief system never get elecected at any costs.

If that means making things up, or distorting the truth....if that means mis-direction, even if it means ignoring constitutional rights of citizens, whatever it takes.

Religious bigotry is what made the US stand apart from other countries where freedom of idea's were tolerated. Mark my words, if this country doesn't act in a completey irrational and biggoted manner there will be consquences.

Oh wait, thats not right...humm....

Mitt Romney = Cool
Mary Ann = Not Cool

must be a midol moment for Ms. Akers

Why are you all so concerned about Romney, anyway? I've set it up for Karl to be the next president, so don't go worrying about who runs for what.

I agree with utah. But Romney took a good approach. I think this article is wonderful.
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sophy
Utah Drug Treatment