Carrie, of Stop Screaming, I'm Driving! wrote this weekend about the revelation re: John Edwards' extra marital misdeeds. She poses the question, "Can a leader be excellent as a leader and horrible at his or her personal life?"
Well, history has shown us that yes they can. FDR died in his mistress' arms, a mistress with whom he maintained a relationship for years, all the while holding the United States and the Allied forces together through WWII. And there is of course, Thomas Jefferson and quite frankly the majority of the past presidents, (sad but true.)
In the same way, being a morally excellent person does not make you any more qualified to be a great president, look at John Adams and Jimmy Carter, both devout, faithful men, both unable to manage the political juggernaut of the American presidency.
As for John Edwards, I was sad to hear of his affair, especially for his family. However, I am curious why I need to know about it, and why all the hoopla now- he is no longer a senator, no longer a candidate for anything. He is simply a private citizen. While it certainly makes for salacious gossip, and we Americans love hearing when our celebrities and politicians stumble, it really means nothing to anyone but his family, it has no bearing on anything now. We can talk about "what could have happened..." but that is a waste of time ans serves nobody's interests except perhaps the media moguls hoping to make a little extra coin.
Ted Stevens of Alaska however IS a senator, and while he didn't have an affair (as far as we know) he has been indicted on seven counts for financial mis-allocation, specifically using campaign money to remodel his house and lying about it. Nobody is talking about this. There is no public outcry, no demand for his resignation
So apparently it's OK for a sitting senator to use public money and remodel his house with it, nobody has a problem with that. We don't mind if people lie about how they use money, we don't mind if they lie, cheat and steal, financially or politically, you know, things that actually have something to do with governance; we're good with that. Just don't lie, cheat or steal with your pants down; that will get you tied to a stake with a fire built at your feet.
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
2 years ago
1 comment:
Great post Stephanie! And like I said, it isn't what Edwards did, it's how he's acting. And that is what makes me mad - his personality change. I don't care about the gossip, don't care what his wife thinks of him, don't care if he fathered the child of his lover. I do care that he presented himself a complete 180 from the person in that interview on Nightline - and that sucks!
Yes, past leaders have had indiscretions. But thankfully they didn't have the paparazzi camped out on their front lawns like we do today. I think it's horrible that it is getting as much attention as it is, while that senator in Alaska is basically flying under the radar for doing something actually criminal.
Thank you so much for your input. I hope we don't have to hear much more about this and can focus on the what "ares" instead of the what "ifs." :)
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