<<I didn't say that George Romney needed vindication. I said that Mitt Romney's run for the presidency seems to me to be motivated by a desire to accomplish what his father could not.>>
That's a different story. A father can well set an example and a challenge to his son, which the son can take up in honour of his father. If the son indeed surpasses the father, no one will be prouder or happier than the father. (I speak as a father myself. And as a devoted son.) It is entirely likely that Mitt Romney wants to run in part because of the example set by his father.
<<George Romney was indeed 'brainwashed'. Most of the nation was brainwashed about the Vietnam War, at one time or another.>>
Gov. Romney was courageous to admit that the war propaganda had fooled him, which provided a rationale for many conservative Americans to renounce their previous pro-war stance and save face at the same time, effectively blaming the government and the Navy for lying them into that war, but his choice of "brainwashed" to describe what happened was truly unfortunate. He was immediately pounced upon by the "leftist" and "liberal" media and crucified for his honesty and his courage.