What is Wrong with Politicians?

Should we even care what our elected officials do with their free time? I don't want to care, but I do. Hanging on to some childhood notion that politicians should lead by example, I want my Senator or President to be honest, ethical, and a good human being.

I guess it goes back to a trust issue. I never trusted our current Prez, and so I never voted for him (okay, even if I trusted him, I probably wouldn't have voted for him on account of the mild retardation thing). My affiliation isn't with one political party or another, but I lean more to the left on many issues. Even so, I still wouldn't and didn't vote (primary) for Hillary Clinton because I simply don't trust her. Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush are the same person. They don't line up anywhere on the political spectrum, but both will do anything it takes to get what he/she wants.

Recently, John Edwards admitted to having an affair in 2006. I'll concede the fact that Edwards is much better looking than his wife. But just because the car I drive looks like a piece of shit doesn't mean I should go out and steal a BMW - that would be wrong. I'll also concede the fact that the previous analogy doesn't really work.

What he did was wrong. He lied, cheated, and proved that his moral compass is skewed. He lost some of my trust. If he wasn't married and had slept with a 22 year old working on his staff, that would get alot of media attention as well, but I wouldn't have a big problem with it. Adultery is a big deal, and I don't want an adulterer deciding what is right or wrong for my country.

Do I care that Larry Craig is gay? No. I do care that he has been living a lie for years and was asking for knob jobs in a Minnesota airport bathroom (Sidenote: I've been to Minnesota and I couldn't even get a "hello" from anyone on the street, so I am amazed that he could get "mouth hugs" from strangers in a bathroom). Anyone like that has no place making decisions that effect other people's lives.

Does it matter that Elliot Spitzer boinked a hooker? Okay, that one was wrong from all angles.

In closing, I think John Edwards said it best in reference to Bill Clinton in '99:

"I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen."