Another Look At Presidential Candidates Views On Infidelity
May 17th, 2010 by The BabeBased on what we know now – John Edwards / Rielle Hunter Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky scandals and the purported affair between Barack Obama / Vera Baker, I thought you might find interesting to take Another Look At Presidential Candidates Views On Infidelity.
Couric asks
“Whether They Can Understand Voters Who Don’t Feel Comfortable Supporting A Candidate Who Cheated”
Here are some of their responses:
The Question by Katie Couric:
Harry Truman said, quote, “A man not honorable in his marital relations is not usually honorable in any other.” Many people say they don’t feel comfortable supporting someone who’s not remained faithful to their spouse. Why should they?
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Barack Obama
Obama: Why should they not –
Couric: Support someone who isn’t faithful. In other words, people feel uncomfortable. Is that appropriate? Or, you know, how do you feel about that?
Obama: Well, I … you know, I do think that public morality … and private morality are not sum — you know, or not equivalent. You know, we — some of our greatest presidents haven’t always been terrific husbands. And some who have been wonderful husbands have been rotten presidents.
So, you know, I think that other countries have typically taken a little more casual on approach when it comes to the personal lives … of elected officials. And I think that there has to be some space for privacy. I will say this.
I do think that I’m very proud of the relationship I’ve got with Michelle, and the work and the value that I’ve put into it. And I hope it does say something about my character, the strength of my marriage. But, you know … if I was — had a wonderful marriage but didn’t have good ideas in terms of providing health care for every American or repairing the damage that’s been done to our foreign policy by George Bush, then my marriage alone shouldn’t qualify me … for being president.
Couric: Should infidelity qualify someone, or should infidel …
Obama: Disqualify.
Couric: … infidelity disqualify someone?
Obama: You know … I’m very cautious about applying strict moral rules to … or a blanket universal rule to … people. Because, you know, I mean, there are some people who might say that the fact that, you know, I indulged in drugs when I was young, disqualifies me. I mean, there are a lot of ways that you can apply that kind of morality. What I’m always hopeful of is that people are judge our public servants based on their passion, their commitment, their public integrity, how they operate with that public trust. And, you know, if we start getting too sanctimonious about some of these issues then there aren’t going to be that many people who are able or willing to serve.
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Hilary Clinton
Clinton: Well, I can certainly understand why some people would feel that way, and … that is their perfect right to do so. But I think … would be a tough standard for most of American history to be able to meet, when we look at people who have made a big difference in our country.
I think there’s more to someone’s honor and integrity, and to their public service. I think sometimes we confuse the private and the public in ways that are not necessarily useful. So, of course, it’s a deeply personal matter that I take personally. But I think on the public stage, there are a number of people who have represented our country, led our country, accomplished great achievements on behalf of our country who might have some challenges in their personal life, but have made a great contribution.
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John Edwards
Couric: So how important do you think it is in the grand scheme of things?
Edwards: I think the most important qualities in a president in today’s world are trustworthiness, sincerity, honesty, strength of leadership. And certainly that goes to a part of that. It’s not the whole thing. But it goes to a part of it.
Couric: So you think it’s an appropriate way to judge a candidate?
Edwards: Yeah. But I don’t think it’s controlling. I mean, I think that, as you point out, there have been American presidents that at least according to the … stories we’ve all heard, that were not faithful, that were in fact good presidents. So I don’t think it controls the issue. But I think it’s certain … something reasonable for people to consider.
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John McCain
McCain: You know … that’s an area that I never get into. Because I think that people make judgments, and you can judge other people. I’m not very good at that. And so, I think it’s up to each person’s personal view of the individual, and … everybody has a different view.
I say that because you and I know that there have been some leaders in American history — latest information about Franklin Delano Roosevelt. I happen to still think that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an important president at a time in our history when we needed some courage. And so … that’s just frankly, a judgment that I leave to others.
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Bill Richardson
Richardson: Well, I think this is … if you’re — if you’re not faithful to your wife, you’re not faithful to the country, to your ideals. You’re not faithful to the spirit in which Americans trust their political leaders. And they expect them to … have a sense of honor.
Nobody’s perfect. I’ve been married to Barbara for 35 years. We’ve had our differences, our difficulties, but we’ve stayed together. But I think being faithful is … an essential component of any relationship. It’s whether a voter can trust you to … be thinking about the common good as opposed to personal ambition or anything else.
Couric: Do you think infidelity is reason enough not to vote for someone?
Richardson: I don’t think so. I think that, you know, infidelity is … a serious problem in any marriage. But, you know, everybody sins. And it’s whether you’re forgiven, whether you forgive yourself, whether you have faith in God. You know, perfection … is something that politicians, they should not stand themselves for perfection. Nobody’s perfect.
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Mitt Romney
Couric: Well, what do you think of people who base their judgment at least partially on a candidate’s ability to remain faithful to his or her spouse?
Romney: You know, I let people look at me any way they want to. I’m not gonna give advice to the American people in which aspects of a person’s life they look at. After all, the president of the United States is gonna be under a microscope. He will be. The first lady will be. The whole family will be. Every mistake will be open to the world. In some respects, you respect the nation.
In some respects you represent an example to the children of America. So we’re gonna get looked at in all sorts of ways. And I’m not gonna try and counsel the American people as to what to look at. I know they look at my faith, for instance. And I’m happy to have them do so. Some are critical. Some are positive. It’s just part of the package. And take me as … the whole character that I am.
Couric: Do you think that people shouldn’t vote for candidates if they are — commit adultery, for example?
Romney: I think people should be able to do what they want to do. And express their own views when they get into the … voting booth. I’m not gonna tell them how to … do that. And I know that people will, again, take their own counsel.
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Fred Thompson
Couric: Do you think it’s an appropriate way to evaluate a candidate?
Thompson: Everybody’s gotta make up their own mind about that. I think that you can evaluate a candidate any way you want to. It’s a free country. There are a lot of things that go into it. When we elect a president, we’re electing the leader of the free world. We’re facing tremendous challenges ahead. I don’t think we’ve come to terms with the nature of the threats against us, really in terms … of radical Islam and the things we’ve got to do and the threats to the economy with the growing retirement population, things that, of that nature.
So, nobody’s perfect. Everybody has weaknesses and has made mistakes one time or another in life. But everybody’s gotta decide for themselves what they want to consider that go into making up. The leader is going to have to deal with these problems of the country.
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Mike Huckabee
Huckabee: I can. If you violate the promise that you made to the one person on earth to whom you’re supposed to be closest to, and this vow was made in front of your families, your closest friends, and God, and you don’t keep that, then can we trust you to keep a promise that you made to people you don’t even know?
Huckabee: I don’t think it means that a person can’t be a good president. Obviously, there have been some great presidents who had personal issues. I think that’s going to be true of all leaders. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody. Me, anybody else. We all have flaws.
One of the things that I think I’ve learned most about life, particularly from my experience of having been a pastor, is that the people that you think are the best people on earth? Well, they’ve got some secrets sitting in there, about some pretty dark spots.
And the people you think are the dregs of the earth, there’s some qualities there. May not be on the surface, but they’re there. The capacity to make great decisions is not always the same as the capacity to make really good personal decisions.
But it does come to the matter of, I think, whether the general population will trust you, and that if what you’re saying is really true. They may believe that what you do is a good thing. It’s just they don’t, they may not believe that what you say is necessarily the truth.
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Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani: Sure, I can. Absolutely. You know, they look the every single part of us. And the … only thing I can say to people is I’m not perfect, you know? And I’ve made mistakes in my life. And that … not just in that area. In other areas and I try to learn from it. I try to — I feel sorry about them. I try to learn from them so I don’t repeat them.
Sometimes I even repeat them and … you try again. I mean, you … so — I have a, maybe a more generous view of human beings and a more generous view of life. I mean, it comes from growing up as a Catholic. I mean, we’re all sinners. We’re all struggling. We’re all trying hard. We ask for forgiveness, and then we try to improve ourselves again. And I’ve — relate to other people that way. Relate to the world that way.
Technorati Tags: CBS News, Katie Couric, John Edwards, Rielle Hunter, Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, affair, Barack Obama, Vera Baker, Infidelity, Hilary Clinton, American presidents, John McCain, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney, president of the United States, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani
