Wednesday, December 12, 2007

For Better Or Worse

Questions about Giuliani's three marriages have reminded me that in an ideal world we'd want a President and his or her spouse to have a long, loving, model relationship.
But things don't always work out that way.
Which may prompt us to ask: Was JFK less of a leader because of his philandering? Was FDR? Was Reagan a bad role model because he had been married and divorced?
Nixon was married to the same woman for a long, long time and there is no evidence that he ever had an affair. Did that make him better?
Politics is hard. It's tough. It takes a tremendous toll on people: on families, on children, on everyone involved. And not having the right partner makes it even tougher if not damned near impossible.
Still, when you're a public figure -- and you're running for President in 2008 -- everything is on the table. For better or worse (for rich and poor and in sickness or health) there are no secrets and everything is out there, even if it means too much information.
So, the public will simply have to sift through all of it and then decide.

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