I guess he could do it because dogs don't vote!!

That act of stupidity alone would be enoung to dissuade me from voting for him, if I were so inclined.

he has fired himself to ever be elected to anything, even dog catcher! AWFUL

Not the sort of prudent action I expect of a man aspiring to be a national leader!

He should be put in a cage and strapped to the roof of a car and driven 500 miles and see how he likes it. Lost my vote.

This man is a complete moron and should be charged for cruelty to an animal. When I was young, there was a woman in our neighbourhood who routinely put her weimerauner (sp?) in the trunk of her car whenever she needed to take the dog to the vet. The parents in our neighbourhood staged an intervention, went to her door and demanded that she relinquish the dog to one of the group who had a special interest in that breed and who then kept the dog and gave it a loving home. People need to take action and not just allow this kind of stupidity to go unchallenged. If this is an example of his decision-making skills, who would want him in public office? Idiot.

pure stupidity.....and neglect....
what message does it send to his children! What was wrong with his wife for not speaking out!!!

His creditablity is out the window!!!!

No way would I want this man to be president of our fine country. He's an idiot.

It is safer for a dog to be in a dog carrier and securely strapped to the vehicle than what many people do when they let their pets hang out windows or ride in the back of their trucks. The carrier would act more like a seat belt than sitting free inside a car. Give the man a break

If he would do that to his dog, imagine what he would do to people in middle and lower class America. Oh wait, they'd probably be relegated to the trunk.

Um, it's not safer, the strap could have been undone. Having the dogs head a half a foot out the window is not that dangerous. Not to mention it probably scared the dog.

I'm sure Romney could afford a vehicle large enough to allow the dog crate to ride safely inside the vehicle. How stupid.

I am speechless. He's not getting my vote.

So what's wrong with that? He probably got the idea from one of those Chevy Chase Vacation movies. They thought enough of their beloved pet to take him along. His critics will make it sound like Seamus was tied to the rear bumper. At least he had the full protection of the carrier. Give this poor family some credit. The weather could pose a problem between September 1 and August 25, in which case Seamus would need earmuffs and mitts.

I like this gut, Romney.

Maybe he should get Michael Vick as a running mate ?

"that alone should have been sufficient indication that the dog was, basically, being tortured,"

Tortured? i see now why the liberals are crying about us torturing prisoners, they have no idea what so ever what the word means. Tortured? come on....

What the heck is wrong with you people?! Everday I see semi-trucks full of cattle and pigs going down the highway in containers very similar to over sized pet carriers. These trucks are goings many hundreds of miles in all weather conditions, including the dead of winter! Why don't you boycott the beef and pork industry?!
The animals, according to Ingrid Newkirk, must be stressed and tortured because urinate and defecate all over their containers!! How utterly stupid some of you people are!

SHAME on Jake Tapper for not making it clear that the dog incident happened 24 years ago in 1983. But also shame on anybody that would treat an animal that way.

Hey Ray, I don't think you are getting the picture. The dog was tortured, whether you feel that the correct term you used was correct or not. We have a term in American society to explain this completely. It is "Scared ****less". Get the idea? Stop trying to make this a "liberal" vs. "conservative" issue. The animal puts its full trust in the owner. It is the owners responsibility to be a good steward to that animal. Period.

He just lost any chance of my vote as well. Animal cruelty should absolutely not be tolerated by any society, it is pure evil.

Did this actually happen 23 years ago? If so, let it go...I would like to hear Rominy's side before passing judgement.

What a cruel idiot!!! Would he travel with one of his children that way? That dog was frightened and undoubtedly uncomfortable. If he can't take care of his dog, how can he take care of our country??

Errol: You have a point. Those animals are also no doubt under undue distress. I recommend that you DO boycott the beef and pork industry.

John: I agree on both accounts. I was wondering when this event happened, since the date was not mentioned.

renae: You have a point (at least about the way *some* people let their dogs hang out of cars, or have their dogs roaming about freely in the back of a pickup). However, that doesn't make the dog carrier idea any better.

Hey Jason, I couldn’t agree more. Here’s another way of looking at it. Would you strap a child in a car seat to the roof of the car? Of course not, so why would it be okay to strap a dog up there? Lastly, for the people that think this is okay I really hope you don’t have pets!

Where is the photo evidence? Sounds like a "Mainstream Media who cried wolf" scenario. I dont believe it for a second.

Oh, and torture? I see dogs all the time in the beds of pickups and they seem to enjoy the wind blowing past their faces. I just read an article that you nut jobs want to protect of all things dirt and rocks for good so that someone strolling on a beach cant pick up a pebble for a momento. WE GOT DAMN ASTEROIDS SLAMMING IN TO OTHER BODIES IN SPACE FOR GOD'S SAKE! TSUNAMIS THAT CAN ALTER A BEACH FOREVER, QUAKES THAT RAISE CORAL BEDS 10 FEET ABOVE THE OCEAN!

ANIMALS EAT OTHER ANIMALS AND SOME PLAY WITH THEIR FOOD, TORTURING IT BEFORE THE KILL IT! EVER HAD A CAT THAT ATE MICE? AND YOU WANT TO MAKE THEM HUMAN? EVER SEE KILLER WHALES GOING AFTER A SEAL?

What's really disturbing here is the fact that somebody is actually trying to push an antagonistic agenda against Romney based on the Globe article. By the way, hands up from all of you Romney haters who actually read the Globe article.......yeah, I didn't think so. This whole story renders merit only to the unyielding fact that the type of "animal rights activist" (or any "activist" for that matter)disturbed by this "news", functions in this world under a substantial cloud of disillusionment. I bet all of your animals are under "stress" just because they have to live with you.....just thought I'd mention that.

He is Clearly not fit to take care of the Country and should withdraw from the race.

To me he was kind and showing love taking the dog on vacation with the family ,there nothing wrong in what he did .aim sure the dog was safe and comfortable riding up there, with all that fresh air ..This man did no harm to the dog.. The place I live the people eat there dog and your making a big deal because he put the on top his car .Now if he put human up there, that a different story .but a dog ---- its ok

Is this the type of man that some people want to see as President of the United States?? What he did to his dog is cruelty plain and simple. Just one more reason that I would not cast my vote for this man.

Please, this is NO BIG DEAL. Common practice for the poultry industry to pen tens of chicken with no room to move in cages stacked ontop of stacked chickes 8' high, 8' wide 40' long without even a tarp to shade them. The chicken all survive till their slaughtered. The dog dumped because he had to - let it go people. It's NOT A HUMAN it's "just a dog" and animal.

For heaven's sake, this was 24 years ago, and I'm sure the complete story WAS NOT TOLD....this is stupid. If a story is going to be printed, make it something worth reading!!!!!

I want to see the proof, sounds like crap to me. Also this supposedly happened several decades ago so why do they now bring it to light? It sounds like Animal activists just want to find some cooked up idea to try to keep a republican out of office. I do not believe it for a second.

Just when I thought I had found someone I could vote for, I hear this. If true, he's lost my vote. Not because I'm such a big animal rights person, but it's just plain stupid.

Just in case you haven't heard .... approximately 30 years ago, Romney is known to have actually ran with scissors! What kind of man do we have here? Could he have possibly made unthinking and insensitive mistakes? Surely not! He should have a spotless record like ..... ohhh ... maybe Ted Kennedy or Bill CLinton. I don't like Romney but really..... let's get a life!

Mitt's act was not just cruel, it was dumb and unnecessary. The story reflects a lack of common sense, since the problem had other solutions. The number of empty seats inside the car was at least 1, and possibly as many as 3.

The Globe presents it as a story about crisis management, but the crisis was easily avoidable. We don't need another president who blunders into crisis on account of poor planning. He's supposed to be smart, but maybe his intelligence is of a shockingly narrow variety.

Lots of facts and proof here: http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2007/6/27/15342/6665/474#c474

Perhaps he needed the room for the beer cooler inside to keep cool.

Now I will not even consider Romney a candidate worthy of further attention.

While this was cruel and revealing as far as Mr. Romney's consideration of animals (so much for "family member"), isn't this mostly just another example of actions and stances over the years that just don't seem to add-up to a real personality?

Mormon? No, he is actually a Moron!

It was a single incident 25 years ago not a pattern of behavior. Yes it was a cruel act but which one of us can truly swear that we have never been cruel to an animal or another human being in our entire lives.

It's a dog....get over it.

I am no animal rights activist, but I don't think that you need to be one to at least believe that all animals should be treated as best as they can be. We seem to forget that we're also a part of the animal kingdom. Romney has already proven that he doesn't demonstrate consistent judgement - so this isn't a matter of Liveral vs. Conservative or anything of that sort. Rather, it is just another example of poor judgement on his behalf. The fact that is was quite some time ago might mitigate it a bit, but as most of us of a certain age already know - people really don't change all that much after a certain point in their lives, so it's not unreasonable to call this action into question. I must say that when I weigh the arguments based upon the posters who seem inclined to be Liberal vs. Conservative - the Liberal arguments are far more rational and compassionate and I'm not a Liberal. Conservatives seem to have a way of justifying any action as long as it meets their own ends. I do agree with the one poster who stated we can't afford another President along the lines of the one we have now.

Complete idiot! Will not get my vote for anything, not even dog catcher!

I'm a die hard democrat and am not going to vote for hime anyway, however, wasn't this 25 years ago. Can we somehow get a grip on reality here folks?

Why is this even news? What a complete waste of time to even care. If people cared about their fellow human beings as much as they cared about their dogs this would be a much better place. Time to rechannel your energy, people.

who cares! Having a dog pee on a roof is not a vote changing issue, afterall, he didn't shoot a man in the face(Cheney)!

A ride on top in the wind, ah come on, that's truly doggie style...

If Mitt promises he will strap Harry Reid to the roof of his car and drive Harry up to Canada and then abandon him, then he can have my vote. Go, Mitt!!

Dogs ride in the back of trucks all the time...whats the difference? My uncle had one that would only ride on the hood.

Awesome! I'll have to try that sometime.

Romney treated his family pet like a complete dog! How dare he? :)

I think all of you people out there who think it was okay for him to put his dog on the roof of the car should be put in a carrier and strapped to the roof of the car and see how cruel you think it is then.

Hey, maybe he was driving a Yugo and the choice was the dog or the kid. If he didn't take the dog, the dog would have starved to death at home. Then nobody would have known.

Hey, how about we strap Mitt to the to top of his wife's car and see how long it will take him to get to the White House! Idiot!

The dog... "protested in a scatological way"... what a load of crud. As if the dog was making a political statement by defacating over a period of 12 hours. And again... how is it safer for a pet to be loose in the back of a truck? Strapping pet carriers to the top of cars used to be common. Why is stuff like this being brought up for a presidential following social norms from over 2 decades ago? Jake Tapper... you are indeed an idiot.

The problem with people sometimes is they don't try to put themselves in the 'shoes' or in this case paws of the pets and ask themselves ..."How would I feel locked in a cage on top of a roof of a car going up to 70-80 mph down the highway not having any choice in the matter?? Just a little common sense required which is sad to say ,alot of folks are lacking.......even political candidates!

If this did happen 23 years ago, Jake Tapper shouldn't be a reporter. That's a big omission. I agree that it was a stupid thing to do on Romney's part, but I sincerely believe he wouldn't do that now.

I would have strapped his wife to the roof of the car like a deer. That would have allowed the dog to ride inside. Strapping women to vehicles used to be very common.

This from Boson.com website on Romney:

"Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family's hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon's roof rack. He'd built a windshield for the carrier, to make the ride more comfortable for the dog."

Why no mention of the windshield in this article?

35 years ago, people didn't typically put their kids in car seats or seatbelts. I would bet this was true of Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela etc. Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt probably didn't treat their animals according to PETA standards.

Times change. Let's worry about the problems we have NOW. The world has some really serious problems! Genocide is happening in Sudan, there's a war going on in Iraq, Iran and North Korea are becoming nuclear threats, the economy is going into the toilet, and you want to focus on something that happened 23 years ago! Give me a break!

Way to go Peta & ABC, another new LOW

in reporting facts from the bottom of the barrel.

How about just leaving the dog with a kennel instead of putting it through riding on the roof of the car?

Tagg Romney, the oldest of Mitt's five sons, told the story to the Globe. The story was supposed to show how cool Romney was in a crisis (when dog poop ran down the back window Mitt calmly hosed the car down at a gas station). They were driving 12 hours to Ontario from Boston to vacation at Mitt's family cabin - Mitt told the family (and the dog) "no stops except for gas."

If anyone is outraged by this and is not a vegetarian, then they are hypocrits.

Yeah, and I really like the headline: "Romney Strapped Dog to Car Roof." ABC news dropped the ball on weapons of mass destruction, the suppoed Iraq/Sept. 11th connection, but they're on it when is comes to (mis)reporting something that happened 23 years ago.

Yeah, stuff that happened 20 years ago is irrelevant - unless it is about John Kerry.

I cannot believe you people. We have two dogs who travel together in their kennel either in the back of our truck or the back of an SUV, and they love it. they are in the comfort of their kennel and they are excited about going on a trip. And I can tell you, they are happier in the truck because they love the wind and they can see and smell everything going by. And just because the dog went to the bathroom does not mean it was tortured or scared. Dogs are dogs, and some of them go when they have to go. I have heard many people talk about their dogs going to the bathroom in their cars. Now, tell me which is better. The dog going to the bathroom inside the car or in their kennel. Some dogs just cannot be trained. Get over it people. Most dogs are not prissy and don't have to have luxury accomodations on a road trip. Most are just happy dogs that are happy to be along for the ride. Irish Setters are strong dogs who love to be outdoors. They are not fearful dogs who need to be coddled. Now, let's be a little more intelligent about what the important issues really are.

Save the puppies and vote for RON PAUL!!!

Stupid? Yes. But will it make him a bad president? It's hardly relevant, especially since he's probably long realized how stupid it was. If someone changes their vote for Romney based on this, it shows more than anything else that their decision was never based on anything that mattered in the first place. It's for reasons of presidential qualification that I don't know whether I'll vote for him.

Romney was treating his dog with a heckuva lot more care than the people I see routinely driving around with little MiMi sitting in their lap, ready to be crushed between the owner and the steering wheel at any sudden stop or thrown against the dashboard if the dog happens to be in the back seat. A crate is where a dog should be when you're taking it with you on a trip. It wouldn't matter one bit to the dog that the crate happened to be on the roof of the vehicle. As far as the dog's concerned, it's in a safe, enclosed environment and the article stated it was also shielded from the wind. I suspect most people posting here should be looking in the mirror first before pointing fingers at Romney.

And to say in the headline that "Romney Strapped Dog to Car Roof" is dishonest and deliberately misleading. Shame on ABC.

Dan, what does John Kerry have to do with this? That they're both from Massachusetts????????

Romney wants to double Gitmo, now he "renditions" his family pet on the roof of his car? Yeah, I'd trust a "man" like that. Guess his cruelty streak goes back a loooooong way. Anyone interview his kids and wife about beatings? Or, I don't torture dogs anymore......Romney. A kinder, gentler America. Bully for you, Romney!

Interesting how these "vote" pages, about candidates manage to show up without the voting mechanism.

Happens a little too often to be perceived as "freedom of the press".

Okay, now you're just making wild accusations.

I'm a Democrat, but I can't tolerate smear tactics, no matter who they're directed against. If you don't like Romney's position on GITMO, fine. But don't bring his family into this. That's Coulter-esque.

Wow, I guess Mr. Romney's record is SO bad that you have to go back 25 years to find some sort of "dirt" on him.

Get a life people!!! It was a dog...25 years ago no less.

Maybe he should kill someone in a drunken driving (alledgedly) accident like the senior senator from MA.

He could get a free pass on that.

Jane:

Pretty amazing how someone forms such broad and sweeping conclusions based on such tiny, tenuous tidbits of information. If you bothered to read the article, it details over and over how kind Romney is to his wife, his children, his fellow students, his work colleagues...And yet -- out of the entire week-long series, this is the one thing that gets called out, and in a completely dishonest way. How pathetic.

Per my post above, Romney's treatment of his dog is a lot more responsible than the people who drive around with little MiMi sitting in their lap completely unsecured.

Did any of you actually read the Boston Globe article Jake Tapper, wanna-be journalist, alluded too? According to it, Romney made a windshield for the dog carrier so the dog would be more comfortable. I don't care if you don't vote for Romney becuase of this. However, if you take this Tapper guy seriously, maybe you shouldn't be voting in the first place.

This is typical of the republican party and their abuse of animals. I know for a fact that Bush and Cheney have participated in CANNED HUNTS. Where was the outrage before their "election"?

What a great society we live in! Everyone and everything has legal rights and someone to speak out for them if they cannot do it on their own. We are so great that we expect our leaders to be perfect in every which way even though, we the common people, can make all the stupid mistakes we want. This story is just proposterous and released just to make the headline. My challenge to all you people out there ready to beat someone up regarding their stupid msitakes ..."he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone".

Maybe strapping a dog carrier to the roof is not the first choice in pet transportation- but in my opinion if the only dirt anyone can bring up on Romney is from 23 years ago concerning a family vacation and a family pet incident- I think that speaks very well for his character.

I was wondering for whom to vote. The idiot commentators on this board, along with Ingrid Newkirk, have made me realize theat Mitt's the man. He now has my full support.

Mitt is a real nut...this is just so cruel that I think "Cruelty to Aminal Actists Groups" should seek him out and fine him heavily for strapping his dog on the roof. A good vet will tell you not to let a dog lean out a window of a moving car for too long; not good for their eyes with the wind slapping the pets face. Maybe someone should tie/strap Mitt to the roof and let him make the trip from Boston to Canada.

I would love to see it..good job abc news for sharing this story.

well he either did not have enough sense to know how to treat his dog or he did not care. We already have a prez that treats the common citizen likes Romney treats his dog. Whether it is because he does not have enough sense or because he does not care really doesn't change the fact that except for the well connected most of us have been going down the same road with this guy but in very different comfort zones.
I don't need another disconnected or disconcerned president driving the country.
Pack your bags but leave us behind "Mutt" Romney!

Disclaimer: I am a Democrat.

I was commenting to my wife this morning how similar the media's treatment of Romney has been to the treatment of Al Gore back in 2000.

The focus on statements such as the supposed "I invented the internet" (which Gore actually never said), or, for Romeny, "I've been a hunter all my life." And now this misleading dog story.

The sad thing is that it was possible before the 2000 election, for those who dug into the facts, to see that George Bush was clearly much LESS honest than Al Gore, and (compare defrauding investors Enron style for Bush to making some small exagerrations for Gore). But the media never focused on Bush's much more dishonest history.

And it is clear that Romney from the body of evidence that Romney is a considerate person, a family man, and that he has integrity. On the other hand, we have the "hero" of 9/11, Rudolph Giuliani, who has sordid business deals all over the place and who was much more inhumane to his own family than Romney ever was to his dog.

Mitt Romney is the media's Al Gore. It's laughable when the media attacks candidates like Gore or Romney for "ethical problems" when it's own conduct is so far from what professional ethical conduct.

Let's see - Mormons believe in having as many kids as possible so that the unbaptized-in-the-faith spirits have a vessel in which to reside. Maybe if this moron Mormon had fewer kids there would be a place in the vehicle for the dog. Oh yes - I am from a Mormon family.

just shows what an idiot he is, and why would anyone vote for him as Pres.

Yeah this is reason enough to not vote for him. This is way stupider than lying to the country about WMDs and spying on everyone. Morons.

Yeah, that'll show him!

While a stupid move, it was 25 years ago. You people are crazy, get over it. It wasn't last week!

Seriously, people. Seriously. This is starting to sound like a mob mentality--like the people who want to go burn down a McDonald's because they serve meat.

The dog probably loved every minute of it. What's the difference between that and a dog or hourse being pulled in a dog trailer? Are those animals also being "tortured?" Good grief!!