Is Regret Enough?

About 2 weeks ago a story was leaked concerning some negative behavior of Mitt Romney back during his high school years. Perhaps "negative behavior" is too mild of a phrase, bullying is a more applicable term to the types of harassment Romney led during high school.

The most publicized story was Romney and a group of strong male friends tackling an effeminate boy with long hair, pinning him to the ground, and cutting off his long locks. 

Various other adults have come forward recently sharing stories of how Romney and his friends teased or bullied them in high school and how these dramatic events have affected them to this day.

With Romney a top candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, the story evoked anger and outrage from the public and the press. They demanded answers from Romney; they needed an explanation. And Romney did apologize:

"Back in high school, you know, I did some dumb things, and if anybody was hurt by that or offended, obviously, I apologize for that… You know, I don’t, I don’t remember that particular incident [laughs]… I participated in a lot of high jinks and pranks during high school, and some might have gone too far, and for that I apologize."

This apology did not spark the type of forgiving reaction Romney had hoped. Instead, he received more criticism. If anybody was hurt or offended? As Eric Zorn says in his blog, "An apology may not contain the word “if,” particularly in a case where the word implies that the victim was overreacting to ordinary hijinks and the pain was due to a misunderstanding."

Romney does admit that he fooled around in high school and he was sorry for that, but is that enough? If, close to 50 years later, he regrets his decisions back in high school, should the event now be dismissed?

I understand the complexity of the question. People make lots of stupid decisions in high school they'd like to forget as adults. Why should what someone did in high school be relevant to how they're judged as a political candidate (or a job applicant) when they are older? On the other hand, maybe it provides an accurate depiction of, and a window into, a person. I'm still having trouble sorting through this question now. Perhaps the answer should depend on whether the person in question is running for public office or just applying for a job, or depends on whether it's been ten years since high school or fifty years, or depends on the severity of the events in question. 

If you decide to go into the public eye, and run for the highest office in the US, should anything in your past be relevant?