This post was triggered by the Weiner scandal, but I don't want it to be about that. As I've been reading various reactions from all sorts of people, I'm wondering to myself if maybe we shouldn't be adopting the European model more (at least as I understand it on this side of the Atlantic) - cheating is purely a private matter, even if it involves a public figure, and we in America should stop making such a big deal about it.
And while I've considered that viewpoint, I still always come back to the same thought I've always had about a public figure who cheats - if you can lie to your spouse, who you claim to love, you can lie to me, a voter but also a total stranger. And if you can lie to me, then how am I supposed to trust you? And if I can't trust you, I can't vote for you, because how do I even know what or who I'm voting for.
[The obvious exception here is the open marriage - if spouses haven't promised each other monogamy, then "cheating" isn't cheating, and I'll accept it as a private matter. Of course, I can't remember that such a situation has ever happened in US politics, but I suppose it's possible. ]
Thoughts? And please, let's keep this nonpartisan - both D's and R's have been busted cheating, and it's not exclusive to one party.
And while I've considered that viewpoint, I still always come back to the same thought I've always had about a public figure who cheats - if you can lie to your spouse, who you claim to love, you can lie to me, a voter but also a total stranger. And if you can lie to me, then how am I supposed to trust you? And if I can't trust you, I can't vote for you, because how do I even know what or who I'm voting for.
[The obvious exception here is the open marriage - if spouses haven't promised each other monogamy, then "cheating" isn't cheating, and I'll accept it as a private matter. Of course, I can't remember that such a situation has ever happened in US politics, but I suppose it's possible. ]
Thoughts? And please, let's keep this nonpartisan - both D's and R's have been busted cheating, and it's not exclusive to one party.
