Who cares what politicians do in their private lives as long as they don’t condemn the same in others

One of the major themes in the news lately has been the sex life of Republican candidates for President.  Will Newt Gingrich’s standing with “values” voters suffer because he was “dating” his current wife while his then-wife was recovering from an illness in the hospital, or will his current wife be an asset to him?   And what will the voters think about Mitch Daniels, whose wife left him with the kids for two years to shack up with another man?

I for one never cared about Clinton’s peccadilloes and I don’t care about what Gingrich, Daniels, Nikki Haley (who has been accused of getting around a bit), Donald Trump, or any other Republican candidate does in his or her private life.  And I don’t care what Democratic candidates do, either.

There are, however, two exceptions:

  1. When candidates condemn what they themselves are doing, as Senator Larry “Wide Stance” Craig did by condemning homosexuality while trolling airport men’s rooms for quickie gay sex.  As most of us know, Newty dallied while condemning President Clinton for his liaison with Monica Lewinsky.
  2. When the private actions suggest a pattern of wrong-doing that goes beyond adultery, such as sexual harassment, nonconsensual sex, pedophilia or, as in the case of Senator John Ensign, bribery.

As an adjunct to this “live and let live” philosophy, I am also not ready to condemn the adulterer who lies about his or her adultery, as long as there is no proof that he or she lied about anything else.  Just as you can’t score a home run without touching home plate, most adultery involves lying.  The “act” of lying is part of the “sin” of adultery, and not a separate sin. 

It would be great if all our politicians and public figures were saints, but they’re not.  Who is any of us to define sainthood for other people anyway?  And no one can get inside a couple’s marriage and really know what it’s like in there.

I would rather see the news media focus our attention on these factors:

  • The candidates’ past actions in elected office and past record of accomplishments and stands on issues.
  • What the candidate is currently advocating.
  • How often the candidate follows the line of his or her party and if that party line conforms to what you want.

The news media does a disservice to the voters by wasting time on speculation about the private lives of any candidate, again, unless that candidate’s private life involves illegal activity or demonstrates hypocrisy. 

2 thoughts on “Who cares what politicians do in their private lives as long as they don’t condemn the same in others

  1. Some day I hope to be in politics. As for now I study past and present politicians. It isin’t untill recently that the public has been overly concerned with the sexual indiscretions of male politicians. However it’s really important that everybody realizes that sexual reproduction is the core concept that makes every species, life in general, sucessful. In particular, for the male half of the human race sex drive can be overwhelming. Males have more testosterone by design. This hormone is linked to two important traits in humans. Ambition, essential to every great leader, and sex drive. So it goes to say that ambitious males, ones that aren’t slugs on the couch, tend to also have significantly higher sex drives. One might say the good with the bad. Really though it all boils down to people need to get off the backs of male politicians for liking sex. If you are a journalist, and about to write a story tearing down a man for his anatomical design then be sure to include him in your thoughts when you go home that evening and finger your self or jack off (which ever applies). Yep that’s right everbody does it. Some people in their lives are in a better position to turn that fantasy into a reality. Seemings this is the single strongest urge known to exsist in the human race do we really need to be concerned with what is inevidible? Simply put if your sexual agenda doesn’t cause you to break the law I really don’t give a damn who you screw or how you do it, and I expect only the same in return. To all politicians tip of the hat to you for being part of the cumulative effort to make the US a better place to live..

  2. I whole-heartedly agree! I despise hypocrisy, no matter what the offender’s political stripe may be.

    What I look for most in a candidate is someone with a live-and-let-live policy. I have no more right to tell someone how to live their life than they have to tell me how to live mine. Especially when they are the do as I say not as I do type.

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