My students are not going to be led into drug use by ANY adult. They are pressured by their peers and, often, by the sadness of lives they wish to escape. Those who come through the horror of addiction emphasize the importance of honesty and are often willing to address their peers and younger youth about the path they followed down into darkness and back into light.

To refrain from discussing one's past is like a country's refusing to acknowledge its history. I'm not talking about the idea of history's repeating itself but about the idea that if we, individually and as a country, don't know and cannot state where we've been, we can't really know where we're going.

The old "don't tell" line is quite outdated, Mr. Romney.

How many kids NEVER made it past drug or alcohol abuse and are now adults stuck with habits they can't shed?? Stating in detail an persons youthfull exesses gives the firm impression that "I can do it and beat it like him!."

Admitting to the mistakes and firmly stating the dangers associated with such abuse should be sufficeint in itself.

And what does it matter if Mitt was raidsed Mormon or Baptist anyway? We all come from differing upbringing, rich and poor.....faith, values and morality isn't OWNED by any of the candidates, and I don't hear Mitt professing to have the corner on the market in that regard.

Why aren't we judging our candidates for what kind of lives they lead, not what they have done as kids.

While not Mormon, I HATE reading from uninformed bloggers who demonstrate that they are way beyong stupid – to the point of blind IGNORANCE when using faith, mistakes 20 years ago, or family values as weapons.

Stick to the facts, remove blind emotion or bias from your comments and let's discuss ISSUES which will impact our future as the greatest country in the world.

Say, what are you guys telling the kids about all the graft, corruption, sexual dalliances, and just plain lying your party is so bad at hiding? And how about those war *facts* – keep the glamor coming big guy, those stupid kids really buy into that.

This nation doesn't need four more years of stay the course.

Elect this man at your own peril, America!

How would we be perceived internationally if our president "was a goof off in high school and had experimented with drugs and alcohol?" I don't think we'd be the country taken by international community to a certain degree of seriousness.

For those that mention "recovering addicts" and "nephews" in their comments – it has nothing to do with someone running for president. It is a responsibility and duty of every one of us to help and encourage those that may be in need of our support.

Some call Obama's "experiment with drugs and alcohol" (to put it nicely) as honesty – I call it plain ignorance. Can he be 100% certain that no children understood him that it's ok to use drugs and drink alcohol – I still have a great chance to run for the president in the future? That was a very poor judgement on Obama's behalf!

I can already see Headlines one of these days "Teen arrested for DUI who plans to run for president". Great headline, isn't it?

Come on people, use your noggin sometimes.

I agree with Mitt. What is the message we are sending to America (and America's youth)? It is okay to dabble in illegal drugs? Do a little underage drinking? Obama is in a position to be heard by young people. Instead of fessing up to drugs, he should encourage them to follow the law, avoid drugs and make something of themselves. I find it weird that Obama wants to talk about his mistakes. I think most people by nature would hold poor personal choices very close.

To all you posters that are being disrespectful to Mitt's religion, you really need to get a life. Talking about possible homosexual encounters and his magic underwear shows your intelligence (or lack thereof). Grow up.

You're all a bunch of dummies. Totally.

http://www.golden-lamp.com

Heh, heh. I bet that Romney, in his youth, maybe drank a little cider that had fermented in the back of his mom's fridge. Probably doesn't even have any indiscretions to come clean about.

I don't think Romney wants people to be dishonest. He just does not want people in leadership positons to present to young people that experimentation is OK, everyone tries it even Presidental Candidates. For many people it is deadly, and for those that recover, it was extremely hard, and they were lucky.

The younger generations in this elecronic world identify and follow the leaders they see. Their parents have much less of an impact on them, than in the 1800s. Britney, Obama, and many others are providing wrong powerful examples and images that we as a society should not encourage.

Of course we cannot go back to prohibition. However, we can encourage the electronic examples to present this in a healthier way.

We don't need, I have tried them with the indication that everyone does, I turned my life around, and now I want to be President. He should have said, I was young and foolish, I should have never experiemented with drugs, and I suggest you don't or stop now. I feel extreme fortunate that I survive that, as so many have not, and infact it has lead to disastorous lives, even death.

I humble stand here before you, amazed that I am here to run for this great office.

If Obama had not mentioned his past, Romney would have complained that he should have used it as an oppotunity to say 'something'. The revelations of his past 'youthful indiscretion' is already out there.

Obama has a point.

And he made it recently at Manchester, N.H., Central High School in front of an audience of 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls and a sprinkling of adults.

In response to a question put to him from the audience, Obama told the young folks of his abuse of alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, while in school. His point appeared to be that he had “wasted a lot of time.” It should be noted that Obama did not go so far as to warn his young audience about the dangers to them of alcohol and drug abuse, beyond this notion that it was a waste of time.

Of course, as has been pointed out by others, Obama’s point was one thing; his implicit message was another: You can always quit. To be fair to Obama, he did not say exactly when he had quit; but it seemed clear that it was sometime after he had left high school.

So there you have it.

As for judgment and experience vis a vis Mrs. Clinton:

Obama, by his own admission, has more experience with alcohol abuse than does Mrs. Clinton. (She has none.)

Obama has more experience smoking marijuana than does Mrs. Clinton. (She has none).

Obama has more experience snorting cocaine that does Mrs. Clinton. (She has none.)

Thus, it seems abundantly clear that Obama’s admitted experience makes him a better judge of boozing, smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine than Mrs. Clinton.

So folks, if you seek a presidential candidate with experience in boozing, pot smoking and cocaine snorting, then Obama obviously is your man, no doubt about it.

And if it’s judgment you want in a presidential candidate, consider Obama, too, on the basis of his bragging about his alcohol and drug abuse in front of an impressionable audience of high school kids who just now may be forgiven for figuring that it’s O.K. to booze and do drugs because you can always quit — just like Mr. Obama.

Mrs. Clinton can’t hold a candle to Obama on those matters, true enough. Think on it.

http://tinyurl.com/2ztaaw

Posted By Shawnie – Grants Pass, OR : November 24, 2007 6:16 pm "

I generally share the above view too. Most of us have used drugs recreationally and have slacked off at some point during school. Chances are good that most school-children today will have these experiences.

That said, why emphasize bad habits. Most of us realize the dangers of recreational use of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana that some people could be getting into.

It should be one of those things we don't talk about, because it is not good behavior that we should encourage. Obama telling these kids he did drugs and slacked off in school, just reinforces that behavior as more acceptable and less dangerous than we want to communicate to these impressionable minds.

By all accounts, Obama chose to say this himself. That says to me that his moral compass is a bit off.

Hurray for positive change!

Therefore I think that Mr. Obama showed a lack of experience and very poor judgement on his part in his words to this very young group of people.

Maybe we were wrong about his being Presidental Material.

First, it's very poor judgment to, unpromted, start trying to be cool and regailing kids about all the "drinking and drugs" you experimented with in school. The obvious message is that you can experiment away and still become president of the United States. This is a page out of the books of parents who try to be their kid's friend and be cool, instead of setting an example and getting respect.

Second, this is just plain dumb politics. There's a reason politicians don't go around saying things like this. It shows Obama's total lack of experience and will not be something that middle-of-the-road voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin like to hear about. Dumb move.

Being irresponsible is not about age.

As being human and recognizing that we all make mistakes. It is each one's to learn from our mistakes when young.

Some learn from them some don't. Ask the President.;x$#@@$%$

Romney will do or say whatever it takes to win! I see right through him and wouldn't even consider voting for him.
He's a slick phony!

The reason modern candidates reveal their past foibles voluntarily and early is that they have learned that past mistakes will be used against them by their opponents if they are not mentioned. It's a matter of pre-emption.