Personal Lives, Public

"I think every single candidate for president, Republican and Democratic have lives, personal lives, that indicate something about what kind of human being they are. And I think it is a fair evaluation for America to engage in, to look at, what kind of human beings each of us are, and what kind of president we'd make." John Edwards, March 27, 2007

Being an asshole is certainly not a disqualification for public office. If it were, there would be two old guys in Congress. True, as Paul Begala said, this isn't torturing people or sending us to war on lies or spying on US citizens. And, true, as Elvis Costello says, "There's no such thing as an original sin."

This episode does make me wonder (not for the first time) why people choose to make their lives so public and why they hold themselves up as paragons of American virtue. Edwards chose to make his life public; he chose to put his family into the public spotlight, sacrificing time to be a father to his children, time to be with his wife suffering from cancer. He chose to spend his time in public, furthering his personal ambition. They all do. Therefore, this private affair is very much public and my business and I will judge his ability to act as my leader based on this decision and on his lying to cover it up.

Being an asshole doesn't disqualify him from running for office. It does, however disqualify him from my respect, and my vote. Fork, done.

Watch the video here, if you can stand it.

Update: Here is a possible explanation of why Edwards chose to go public now. Perhaps he was the victim of extortion, or the threat of it.