How the family factor figures in '08 presidential race

[babylonsister]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0315/p01s01-uspo.html

How the family factor figures in '08 presidential race

How much will candidates' personal lives matter?

By Linda Feldmann | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Page 1 of 2

WASHINGTON - When Ronald Reagan won the Republican nomination in 1980, a previous divorce raised concerns in his campaign. A divorced man had never been elected president, and his advisers worried someone would try to make it into an issue. That never came to pass.

"There was some whispering about it," says Charles Black, a veteran of that and other GOP presidential campaigns. "But that wasn't near as big a thing as his age."

Fast forward to 2007, and both issues are still on the table. For Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is trailing former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in early polling among Republicans, it's his age, not his 1980 divorce, that could cause problems. But for Mr. Giuliani, his recent, messy divorce – and the resulting estrangement from his children – is now the subject of media focus.

This raises questions about whether candidates' personal lives will matter when voters go to the polls, and if so, how much.

For candidates with less-than-picture-perfect personal histories, the answer may well be, it depends.

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[Rude Horner]

1. I'm tired of the white bread ways in which candidates are deemed worthy

Married with kids Ozzie and Harriet types. Must believe in God. etc.....

[babylonsister]

2. That might soon change if divorces, affairs, etc., become accepted. nt

[Rude Horner]

4. I think there should be a distinction between the two

divorce is one thing. Affairs are entirely different. Divorce can be the result of seeing that there is a problem and taking action to fix it. I have no problem with someone who gets a divorce. On the other hand, affairs violate a trust and a commitment and I would consider that a character flaw with a candidate. Granted, MULTIPLE divorces can be a troubling sign, but that's another issue.

[babylonsister]

5. You are right; I don't fault anyone for getting divorced vs. staying

in an unhealthy relationship (unless the divorce is the result of an affair).

[rurallib]

3. Please not that divorces are only acceptable if your a Republic

And you show some fake remorse to some bullshit religiosity charlatan. How many divoced Dems are running? And if one were a top tier we would never hear the end of it.

[Apollo11]

6. What happened to individual liberty?

There seems to be a "moral majority" here on DU! :)

I'm not saying affairs are good but often a "third party" can act as a catalyst.

My first wife left me in 1997 and the very same night she slept with this guy she liked.

Now technically it was not an affair because she left me a few hours before she screwed with him.

But of course we were legally still married at the time (divorce takes a while to get organised).

Now I might not like it when my wife leaves a 6-year relationship for a 2-week fling (which is all it turned out to be).

But how can I make someone remain in a relationship with me against her will? Why would I want to do that?

How I see it: it's her choice if she wants to stay with me or not.

PS We did not have kids and I can see how that would complicate matters.

[Rude Horner]

7. Keep in mind that we're talking about presidential candidates here

If the average citizen cheats, then it's really none of my business. However if that person is going to run for president, I think we have to take a look at at least SOME of their character traits, to determine if they are trustworthy.

[Apollo11]

8. What about Bill Clinton?

Personally I kinda wish he had resigned in February 1999, not just for what he did, but for making untruthful statements about it.

Just think - we would have already had 8 years of President Al Gore !!! B-)