I don’t think it is so much the sex, but it does indicate an inability to make wise decisions and exert self-control. The prostitution thing goes to a higher level and the mayor fooling around with a subordinate looks like the surface of a much bigger problem.

Aly:

I really don’t think the candidate’s sexual history should be part of a political campaign. Some things should remain private–family, relations, etc–and should not be invaded. At the end of the day, if it is not illegal, it should be left alone.

Thanks,

Gus

I wrote a thread about this subject over at my blog.
http://dogoncrack.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/sex-and-the-state/

I do think that a person who is an elected public office, their actions do matter. All of us, I hope, want people who are morale upstanding individuals to represent us and our views. As a result, a person who engages in morally questionable activities while in office or relatively recently before being elected to office should matter. I am not necessarily interested if 20 years ago while in college they tried smoking marijuanna, but if they where a habitual speed addict, maybe so. In any event, everyone who goes into public life should know by now that their entire life history is open for review. You better make sure that you don’t have any SIGNIFICANT skeletons in the closet.

On another note, I have been away for awhile doing some international travel for work. It is good to be back in the states and watching F&F and AtSS.

Blackballed.

Alisyn
They cant do their job right, if the other head is doing the thinking.
Sal

It is all about the public trust and holding our “elected” officials to a hire standard. A no brainer……

Liberals will state that “It is a private matter” but consider the source……….

The greatness of this country is that you can choose to be a Liberal or choose to be an idiot….but I repeat my self

Yes sex in politics should matter! It is all a matter of trust. These politicians make promises to us as taxpayers just as they make promises to their spuses. If they cannot keep their marriage vows, well, we cannot trust them to keep any vows. the problem with our nation today is corruption to such a degree that it is considered the “norm” for a politician to lie to us and that is indeed sad.

Tony

It seems a little risky to qualify sex affairs, but, history has shown that the private sex lives of truly great and charismatic leaders did not affect their ability to meet the challenges of their office. I think frequenting prostitutes or taking advantage of young employees shows very poor judgement, though, and obviously, the former breaks the law.

Didn’t FDR have a long term affair? Everyone knows about JFK. I wasn’t a Bill Clinton fan, but if his Oval Office romps had not been made public, would his official record be changed in anyway?

I think the public can discern which office seekers have genuine talent and abilities, and would overlook certain kinds of transgression if the individual had the talents to present themselves publicly as the best choice at the time.

So, with all that hot air blown out, i don’t really care what they do in their bedrooms.

Congratulations! I have good and bad news for you. The good news is you won the election. The bad news is your now in a televised monastery. Sex outside of a marriage is wrong in my opinion. Has the spouse been lied to? If somebody can lie to their spouse and break a commitment that was made with them, I wouldn’t trust them representing the people that voted for them. Accountability and trustworthiness is a must if you decide to be in the public eye and expect people to look up to you and believe you.

Yes, sex with someone to whom you are not married, does matter. It goes to the moral fiber of the elected official. The official is elected to lead and influence our lives. If the leader does not have the strength to avoid these temptations, what is next…legalized graft?

Anyone who runs for office needs to be squeeky clean, so I don’t know if there are any of those squeeky clean people out there. If they think that their affairs can be kept secret, they are kidding themselves.

If a person cannot be loyal to their spouse who they know personally, how can they be loyal to the public who they don’t know personally. If you break the institution of marriage, why should the public believe that the politician won’t be corrupt in their public life. Everything affects everything. Humans cannot compartmentalize (spelling i am sure) like machines. Corruption=kick back money=deceit=drugs=prostitution=lies. etc etc. It’s all connected. It’s not just about an affair- it’s about public service. Anyone who disagrees with me, ask your self this question. Am I in public service?; if yes, ask your spouse what they think. If no, do what ever you want. You’ll just hurt the people close to you- not me and my expectations in government and my tax dollars. C

I live in Oklahoma and this morning was all set to watch F & F while getting ready for work – but Fox news was the only cable news program that was unavailable. A message on the screen from the satellite provider said it was a minor glitche and would be repaired. It seemed a little odd that Fox was the only cable news program affected. When I left home about 2 hours later, it still wasn’t working.

I do think that a person’s character matters. I think that it is important to a candidate to show loyalty, but I think the bigger issue is honesty. If a candidate will lie UNDER OATH, then he should not be in office. Wouldn’t you like to see a husband and wife just say – yes, he(or she) did it, I know about and I have forgiven him? Instead we spend millions of dollars because they can not just stand up and take it like a man!

Lying under oath seems to be over-shadowing the sexual misconduct of the Mayor of my city.

Ali:

Being an elected official and having sex is not wrong.

Having sex outside of your marriage is, it shows a perpensity to accept cheating as long as they are not caught doing it (what other things are they not getting caught at?).

Using prositution rings to fulfill their need is down right dangerous. The potential of being blackmailed is too great (remember most of the “big time” rings are mob run).

Joe

Dear Alisyn, I don’t believe the sexual exploits of elected officials should be a concern of voters…taken face value. What is most troubling are the lies, misrepresentations, abuse of power (noted by the number of IRS investigations prompted by B. Clinton against his political enemies or the firing of Detroit Police Officers by the city’s mayor) and general implications regarding the official’s character.

It amazes me when all of the sorted details are revealed, character is the one glaring personality trait that is most clearly defined…or lack of…

Sex sells alot of news, prompts a number of “…for-television…” movies and fosters a number of careers for inspired authors…but time has proven (aka, Cleopatra/M. Anthony) that human beings tend to be driven by the thought of the pro-creative act than they are the concern over the lives that the episode impacts.

Shalom Aleichem, Mark P.

Kwamee Kilpatrick is a perfect example of why such personal improprieties should not come into the public arena. A jury awards millions in a Detroit whistle-blower lawsuit, Kilpatrick promises to appeal the decision, attorneys for the plaintiff threaten to expose Kilpatrick’s dirty little secrets and wham! Kilpatrick signs off on the 8.4 million bucks!

How can a city receive fair representation when their public officials are so vulnerable to such persuasion?

Yes, sexual impropriety should prevent a public servant from holding public office. Public officials, whether they like it or not, should be held to a higher standard. These officials have been entrusted by their constituents to have the people’s best interest in mind. It seems to reason if someone put so much time and effort into being elected they would want to make sure beforehand that all “skeletons” were disclosed, or better yet that there were no “skeletons”.

I think it does if the two involved are in the same organization and one can affect the career of the other. As an example; I think Clinton’s BIG offense wasn’t the sex, but sex with an intern. No CEO from ANY organization, even a cat house, should ever have sex with an intern. If not inter organization, I think it depends on the job requirement for the position. Does the position require the highest integrity? Is it assumed politicans lack integrity? From the marriage view point, I think there is no excuse for it.

Public Office in a representative based govermental body..hmmm…..are you going to be selective about what part of your life they (represent). Seems to me when you put a person in office they should reflect the values of the majority that elected her/him. So if the majority are Christians, Muslims, Atheist, adulterers, etc. I guess the elected official should (represent) them as long as they abide by the rule of law. When you fail to properly (represent), then you should step down or be removed.

I can’t understand why my comments haven’t been posted for the last two days. hmmm is it technical or censored. I dont think it was bad but who knows now days. Love you guys anyway.

The aspects that haven’t been addressed are that immoral activities reveal important aspects of a person’s character in several ways:
1. They have a paradigm for their decision making that doesn’t consider the long term consequences of the choice in question. They choose based on what “feels good, feels right, or what they want at the time.”
2. If they don’t honor their vows of marriage what makes us think they will honor any other agreements while in office?
3. We can never trust a liar… even if they lie about lying
4. They don’t understand that just because an activity is “legal” that doesn’t make it a prudent option. We need wise people in office!

Thanks Allison, we love the show! Even if we don’t win the sweepstakes we’ll be in NYC in June for our first vacation without the offspring in 27 years!!!

apparently in NY that maybe a qualification-

I believe that the people who are outraged with anything a politician does or says are either living in dreamland or in a nut house. Remember even Jimmy Carter had lust in his heart

Hi Ali!
It’s all been made clear to me now!
The uproar and disgust over Bill Clinton’s “actions” while he was an elected official were totally undeserved. It, clearly, wasn’t what we all were led to believe and perhaps we now owe him an apology. You see… He merely MIS-POKED!

Yes. It matters.

Behavior is a visible demonstration of an individual’s character, trustworthiness, and integrity.

Elected officials lacking in superior character, trustworthiness, or integrity, cannot be trusted to execute their duties and handle public trusts responsibly.

Sex or sexual orientation shouldn’t be an issue. Maintaining a monogamous relationship is, as it speaks strongly to honoring commitments, judgement and character. Using a prostitute at any level is an issue as it speaks to a lot about the user viewing people as objects.

Moral character is a valid concern about any elected official. We all need to have trust in elected officials.

If a person truly wants a private life then don’t run for public office.

What matters is their judgement. It seems that the current Govenor of NY is a scoundrel that should be removed from office. I don’t understand why Fox News has been so gentle with him. Actually, you seem very gentle with all black policticians. What is up with that? Stop kissing their backside and address the issues:

Gov. Patterson not only has had affairs, done drugs, he has broken the law by taking money out of the campaign fund for personal expenses. (Clothes, furniture, hotel rooms, dinners) and fraudulantly reported the expenses.
Why has there been pressure on this issue?

Of course it matters. We should be able to trust our leaders. If they are married and fooling around, they have broken their vow to their spouse. How many vows to the people will they break.
It is all about trust. Morals matter.

It is all about character…… Clinton made “sex” look stupid. He had to be thinking, “just how stupid are these americans?” and then he had the audacity to play JR high word games with everybody? American legislators lack morals, honesty, and do not represent their people very well at all.

Public officials should be held to the same standards as ordinary people, but if what they do is not illegal, leave it be. Unethical is not good, but also not sufficient to “bounce” someone out of office. Example” Richard Nixon got caught “changing reality”. His error was not in what he did, but getting caught. “They” all did (do) it, FDR, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, etc.
If we want a moral, Christian type leader, then let’s elect one. If not, shut up!

I still believe that you are only as good as your word. Each commitment is as improtant as the next, if one is broken why would we trust the person next time? Yes, it is as important in politics as it is in our daily life.

Sex is a fair barometer for character. I am fully aware that you cannot legislate morality and I also know that (for the most part) our legislators are incapable of high moral conduct. We elect them to govern. They’re politicians not holy men. Their personal life should be their personal business. The issues arise when they break laws and hurt innocent people because of their private action.

Sex gets the headlines and it may be the root cause of the problems but no one is exempt from the law. If it’s “just sex” then God will judge them. If sex caused the lies, cover-ups, deceit, and deception, which intern caused harm to people and/or property, the law of the land should be applied.

I am in my 50’s and I can remember my folks showing me a newspaper from the 30’s when Detroit’s mayor and other politicians were involved in scandals that ended with people going to prison. The headlines were all about the mob connections. That is what sold papers back then. Today it’s sex that sells. At the end of the story, it’s really about the people whose lives have been damaged by wrongful acts of immoral politicians.

I have a new respect for Richard Nixon who put our country above his personal life and spared us the grief of an impeachment. He showed regret for his actions by stepping down. Today we see others who would rather hire a creative wordsmith to (in their minds) conceal the dirt.

It’s a fine line that we walk. The politicians that know they’ve wronged can only better themselves by stepping down and work to keep their private lives private. The ones that choose to fight it out in public deserve to have their laundry aired.

Sex in politics should only matter in determining the Morality, ethics, and Veracity of a candidate who by all measures MUST set an Example for the YOUTH as well as for citizen.
Perhaps it is time for all Political aspirants for Higher opffice to be honest about:
Lying under oath
Conducting illicit afafirs while married
Exposing their Childfen to inflamamtory anti America rethoric
Show Honesty in campaign fund solicitations…
And If elected DO THE PEOPLE’s Business Not spend too much time pandering for votes by appeasing Special interst groups…
In other words REVERSE the Current Trend which makes Congress looks like a PIG PEN….

Yes, it matters. It points towards a character issue. If they are willing to betray the trust of the people closest to them (spouse, family, friends, etc.), then what makes you think they won’t betray the trust of voters they don’t even know? It’s also interesting to see that it is much harder to find out which political party the perpetrator is from when it’s a Democrat, depending on the news source, as compared to a Republican when it is known within the first paragraph.

The moral standard for sex is imposed on us from various sources and some of us never have to face choosing to participate in an affair. Most people meet the challenge with restraint and choose not to jeoparize their marriage, career or life style. It is a personal and private issue and should have no bearing on political or government positions. We are not all members of the moral majority and I see it as a religious choice issue, not political. Christianity is not the government but it does rule our moral codes and would rule our private llife in all areas if we let it. Stop with the effort to control an entire nation with your relgious beliefs.

It really is inconcieveable how far this country has lowered it’s values but of course the media does not help.
Character is what counts in politics and sex outside of marriage is part of a persons character. Most people under the age of 60 just do not get it. And guess what those people will be voting.

It’s never just about the sex alone. It should be about equal justice and equal treatment under the law. For example, what Bill Clinton did was to (a) lie during a deposition, (b) lie to a Grand Jury and (c) counsel others to lie and obstruct justice in a civil lawsuit. Even Robert Byrd conceded on Fox News Sunday a week or two before the impeachment vote that what Clinton did were impeacheable offenses. But Clinton kept his job with no real consequences–legal or otherwise. The real issue is the existence of two standards of justice–a lenient one for the left and a severe one for the right. As an aside, Rush Limbaugh urges Republicans to vote for Hillary and an Ohio prosecutor wants to indict him for voter fraud. Dan Rather utters an obvious forgery with the intent to affect a federal election and gets a “journalism” award. Go figure what equal justice under the law means.

It does matter IF the candidate is married. Goes to the judgment and trustworthiness of the candidate. i.e. Clinton.

Dear Alyison,

I think that it is a disgrace that these Government Icons feel that they are above the law and moral standards that the majority of the American people believe to be so valuable. These government officials’ sexual escapades tetter on the cusp of legality. Elected officials have a moral obligation to their constituency; they were elected to show, by example, good judgement, sound values, and honesty. Portraying oneself as holier than thou, a crusader for the upholding the law and morals that have made this country great, and then behind the scene, commit blatent deviant acts, knowingly and intentionally deceive their families and their constituents. They lie and they believe their own lies.

Marshall, Gus, Luis and Blackballed:
You guys are soooo on the money. I am no goodie and have done my share of partying, but then again I am not married, attached, and not instrusted with policy issues that effect thousands, in the case of NY gov’s, millions of people. You guys are right- how can the public trust these elected officials NOT to be corrupt if they can’t be trusted by their own families and wives. As I say: everything effects everything. A disgression in marriage does not stop there. Just as there is no safe prostitution; too many cases of links to drugs, pimps, diseases, etc etc. I love you guys!!!

I do believe if i were gov..i would want to fool around with hot newscasters…like you..lol…now that would stroke my ego for sure…

It’s the old joke, “How do you know when a public official is liing to ya, when their lips are moving”
I don’t care what ever this clowns do in their bedrooms, the one’s who took the vow of faith to a wife or husband, and then breaks it, how can you ever trust them to not do the same to the public? When they are sworen in they use a bible right???

This is the root of most sin in this world. Anyone who reads the Bible an believes in God knows this is wrong. We elected these people with the thought in mind that they are trustworthy in all of their dealing with men and government. How horrible it must be for their families. It seems there is no shame in these people. What is worse, many of Americans are condoning these actions. I am a retired teacher, and could see how things effect the children. They learn what they live. How sad.

The answer to the question would be no they should not if was in there past. However when you are a public official and a leader then dignity, self control, common sense, and proper morals should be there top priority , along with the people that they were elected to lead. But on the bright side , I now know what happens to all of our hard earned tax money and the outrageous paychecks that these politicians receive. So thats comforting. You have to love this country. Soap Central. Unjust wars, presidential candidates smearing each others reputations, and sexual escapades. The country is broke or going broke and there going to send me free money , “I love it”! Keep up the good work.
P.S. Your show is awesome. Dont change a thing. It’s down to earth and fun to watch.

IT MATTERS A GREAT DEAL TO ME—WE NEED MEN AND WOMEN OF, GOOD CHARACTER, TRUSTWORTHY, HONESTY JUST PLAIN GOOD CHARACTER— TO LEAD OUR COUNTRY —ITS SEEMS THOSE QUALITY ARE HARD TO FIND—–OUR CHILDREN NEED LEADERS THEY CAN LOOK UP TO—WE NEED ALOT OF HELP IN AMERICA —OUR VALUES AND ALL MESSED UP—IT SEEMS WE DON’T EVEN KNOW THE DIFFERENCE ANYMORE WHEN PEOPLE ARE DOING WRONG—DRUGS, ALCOHOL ABUSE, SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE ,ABUSE OF ANY KIND IS WRONG!!!!!

It is none of anybodys business UNLESS it is done in the White House, illegal prostitution, paid for with the gov money, etc. If a couple wants to have a 3 some in the privacy of their home, that is their business. Some have an image they need to uphold for younger kids & Clinton let kids think adultry is fine with a kid half his age

Either a person has character and Loyalty or not, It can’t be missing in one area of our lives, and then all of a sudden be present in another, A person either has character or lacks character, They either value their words and commitments or they don’t, If they have no value system it will show up in all of the areas of their lives, They don’t really seem to understand what honor is really all about, People that lack these things usually feel that they are entitled to get what they want by what ever means that they can obtain it, They will say what is necessary for them to obtain their goals, no matter what they have to say, And no matter who they have to lie to.

I surly don’t feel that a person without character or loyalty belongs in any position of authority, There is no limit to what they could do if the opportunity arose where they could gain from one decision or another, Their judgment becomes fogged over because of their need to obtain what ever they want, and how they get it becomes unimportant to them, No matter who is betrayed or cheated in one way or another.

If you can not be trusted with keeping faithful to your partner, why would I trust you to keep my faith in the system. Reaping what we sow always comes back and bites you in the rear
good or bad.

Ummmm if you aren’t upstanding enough to be faithful to a mate then get outa politics cause you will do more harm than good is how I see it…
Being unfaithful or anything along those lines makes you vuylnerable to being twisted in the wrong direction by someone willing to use it against you…right?

NO INTEGRITY IS NO INTEGRITY…IT DOES MATTER-TO A LOT OF US…IF YOU CAN’T BE FAITHFUL TO A MATE/PARTNER THEN WHO CAN YOU BE TRUSTED TO BE FAITHFUL TO? THE GOV’T? THE PEOPLE? NAW1, NOBODY IS HOW I SEE IT!…AND INDISCRETIONS MAKE YOU VULNERABLE TO BEING BLACKMAILED IN A TON OF WAYS…SO YES IT DOES MATTER~

SEX IN POLITICS? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THERE WAS A PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDER WHO WAS SINGLE? MAN OR WOMAN IT MATTERS NOT WE ARE ALL HUMAN WITH FEELINGS AND THE DESIRE FOR SEX IS THE STRONGEST POWER IN THE UNIVERSE. DOES ANYONE EVER ASK THE QUESTION “DOES CONDOLESA RICE EVER DO IT?” SHE ISNT IN ANY RELATIONSHIP. THAT WOULD NOT BE A NICE THING TO ASK AND NOT ANYONES BUSINESS. MARRIED AND DOING IT? FOR EVERY GUY THERES A WOMAN ITS 50/50 EXCEPT IN JIM MCGREEVYS CASE OR THE BATHROOM SENATOR FROM MINN. NONE OF THIS MATTERS AS LONG AS THE JOB HE OR SHE HAS BEEN HIRED FOR IS DONE PROPERLY,OTHERWISE HALF THE PEOPLE IN THE U.S. IN TOWNS ACROSS AMERICA YOU KNOW THOSE LITTLE TOWNS WHERE EVERYTHING LOOKS JUST PERFECT [STEPFORD WIVES ETC. ARE GUILTY OH YES THEY ARE.

If can’t take vows of love honor and obey, How can they take vows to a office and stay morale. Then you start having to do favors for those sleeping with and find one gets mad cause they found out that there not the only one being slept with. If they gave there devote love for you, and 6-8 others but NOT what they said they would do. pretty soon the cities and counties or country is cleaning up costly misconduct. trust me it matters. If you don’t care, you should want people with integraty in office at any level. It is what is wrong with the world and country today. The courts are full of trash and garbage cause people cant keep there pants up

Three things that all of this is really about:

1. We used to expect someone to look up to.

2. We used to expect politicians to behave.

3. We used to expect those in office, to be
an example.
==================================
Nowadays it is an example of how bad things have gotten-
Show me one politician that ain’t self serving and rotten.
.
Mary Elizabeth Rumsey
Three by M.E./Rhymes of the Times
Porter, Texas

YES, It matters. Point blank, it tells us the kind of character and integrity a person has, and is that the kind of person we want leading our counties, states, and country as a whole? I think not.

However, unfortunately, in this day and age, when people are fed sex on a regular basis through every media source, and now even in the morning, afternoon, and evening news, we have become desensitized to the shocking aspects of it, and are simply entertained by the stories, and I personally feel they allow the general public to be able to feel just a little bit better about ourselves, because, well… at least we aren’t as screwed up as these more privileged people of power.

Sexual immorality has been going on since the days of the Bible, (anybody remember King David and Jezebel?) and we would be naive to think that it’s going to ever end.

But I digress…. with that pessimistic view, I’d have to say, that at the very least, I’d like a politician who is at least smart enough, and on top of things enough to not get caught, and direct our scandal-seeking natures to such issues, when there are far more important issues to be focused on, and have our tax dollars spent on, such as the economy, the war on terrorism, crimes against children, immigration issues, and on and on…

Lucky McGee
Lakeside, Mt.

One thing about sex in politics. It appears to encourage more participation in politics.

Tom
Pensacola, FL

Although one’s sexual exploits may not dis-qualify someone from running for, or holding office, voters should keep in mind that there are many potential qualified candidates available out there who don’t have this sort of blemish on their records. I personally would not even consider the possibility of running for any public office, if I had a history of doing something immoral, unethical, or criminal. Let those people who have a cleaner slate than I, fill those positions.

i think it is absolutely disgusting. it was like a checklist; “….yep, did that & that & that too…”
these people are elected officals. they are not above the law; & they certainly should be held to at least the same standards as we “little folk” as in OBEYING the laws- it should not be “do as i say & not as i do”; if sex & drugs (gee they forgot “& rock ‘n roll”) are okay then just make it okay for everybody; but (sigh) i guess this would explain why we are in some of the messes we are in…

I think it should matter, especailly if the person is cheating on his or her spouse. If they will cheat on the person they “love”, who they are suppose to be committed to, wouldn’t it be even easier to try and deceive people they don’t even know? Namely the people who elected them to office.

If the politicians will cheat on their spouse, imagine what they will do to the taxpayers.

If you can’t keep a promise and be faithful to the woman you MARRY then how can we expect you as a politician be honest and faithful to the public you supposedly serve!!

Mark

Golly if it is ok for them to pay for extra sex outside of their marriage can I use some of the tax I owe for my personal use. I would promise not to use it on anything that is against the law, which they seem to not worry about – not to mention the part about not being dishonest with the spouse – or the public as if we should matter. Oh what great things we are teaching our young developing members of todays time.

yes. sex in politics does matter. when politicians throw money around like that, it is All money that comes from the taxes taken from our hard earned paychecks. most of the time, those paychecks have a hard time making ends meet, yet it’s only blow money to them. prostitution, mistresses, jet setting, it’s all on the taxpayer’s dime, and it’s WRONG.
i would also like to mention the fact that most of the time, almost every time, it appears to be democratic politicians (THE KENNEDY’S, CLINTON, GOV of N.Y., MAYOR of DETROIT, and on and on). we have entrusted these people with our state, local, and federal budgets to use the tax money wisely, if they fail to do so, stiff penalties should follow, because taking tax money and using it for their own personal pleasures is stealing.

I would agree to the fact that politicians and even business or organizational leaders are held to a higher standard then those who are followers. These are the influencers to our communities and societies and if they have a loose moral or amoral standard what will those who are followers of these people do? It is proven that followers will emulate those they follow. It is no wonder going back to the Kennedy’s low moral standards and their Outift (Mafia) ties (Read the Book Outfit by Russo) that our culture and world has become more and more tolerant of sexual and other improprieties. We would have to just in order to allow people elected or leaders.
Why not raise up the moral leaders of our world, the Bush family, the McCain family, Clarence Thomas, and others. I know it doesn’t sell news networks as much as the other.
Last word, look back to the Janet Reno era of Attorney Generals and she was single handedly the cause for the rise and acceptance of pornography (the driver behind low morals in society) and the tremendous growth of the porn industry during the Clinton/Reno era.
How said.

The quetion of sex. Sex within the family structure is normal and healthy. But done out side of the family structure is a reflection on the intergerty of the individual. If a politican will cheet on there spouce, who shairs his life, how willing will he be to cheet on the public.

Sure it matters. How can we decide anything about the moral fiber of a politician if we are led to believe they are snow white and pure? The political arena is filled with untruths and dastardly deeds, why should we now become complacent about the promises made to ones spouse, life partner, or best friend? Lie to, for, or about one thing, what comes next?

If integrity didn’t matter in our elected officials, the local drug dealer or pimp could hold office. oh wait……..

Moral values in this country have declined to their lowest level in history. It seems that this type of behavior is socially acceptable. We should hold high standards for those who wish to serve the public interest. Lead by example and restore confidence.
There is no room for this type of behavior in society.

for the most part these old boys could not do a whole lot if it was not for pills, most of the time they never see the faces they stick it to

If someone would lie and be dishonest to their spouse then what is to stop them from dishonesty to their constituents whom they have also vowed to serve and have never met?

Seems to me that these folks, our elected officials, should be held to a higher standard… Unfortunately, we’re finding that rather than being morally centered, they are just better at hiding their wrongdoings. Perhaps our politicians should be more thoroughly scrutinized when running for office, and then annually monitored…with any morally offensive, or unlawful acts being grounds for termination of office.

People in public service need to have the public trust. Infidelity, fraud, theft, lies, corruption, and assorted misdemeanors and felonies, should disqualify them from serving.

Those politicians who (like Clinton, Spitzer and Patterson) believe that drug use and sexual adventures should not disqualify them from office should campaign telling the voter before the election that they are having sex with interns, prostitutes and using drugs at parties. See how many votes they get. An elected official must accept the morality of the voters. The voters are a vast and varied lot. Each votes for reasons that are their own. It is this complex morality that governs politics. The official makes an implicit bargain with the people. Vote for me and I will be your kind of person. This is a bargain, not only on policy issues, but personal matters as well. Having agreed to be the person that the voters want, the elected official should not be surprised when personal behavior offends some voters and those people want the official out.

Sexuality doesn’t matter, but morality does. That’s a classic spin that elitists, typically liberals do to try to change the argument. It’s not about whether someone likes sex and is into what, but so often they hide behind things that don’t matter to shield themselves from being in the light of what is very important. Our political leaders must have morals and ethics to work in the best interest of the country. Eliot Spitzer’s situation shows he’ll hurt those closest to him, what could he possibly care about the residents of NY?

Of course sexual indiscretions matter. If the guy/gal cannot be faithful to their spouse, how can we expect them to be faithful to the voters? And, there’s always that pesky little mater of … blackmail/national security.

The issue should be an official’s character as shown by the disregard of a solemn promise publicly made. That promise given, or should have been, during the wedding ceremony.

If you won’t keep a simple promise to someone else, why would I expect you to keep a promise to uphold any law or govern fairly?

This message is to Alisyn. I am a harmless 50+ old guy. But, I am sad every morning at 7 AM when you leave the sofa. I think you are the most marvelous girl on any network.

Best regards,

Steve