Adulterer. Addict. Career-Obsessed Mom: Why No "Character Issue" in this Race?

A presidential candidate dumps his wife of 15 years to marry a younger woman. His new wife -- whose multimillion dollar fortune comes from booze -- steals painkillers from a charity, forges prescriptions and causes a doctor to lose his license because of her lies and manipulation to feed her opiate habit.

The man's running mate put her unborn child's life at risk to make a speech important to her career while leaking amniotic fluid. She has a pregnant teenage daughter.

If any of these people were Democrats, I'm sure the media would be telling the story this starkly. It would be called the "character" issue.

We would hear about how such a man is not moral enough to lead our nation -- and that if he lied to his wife to carry on an affair, surely he will lie to the country.

We would read about how having an ex-junkie, prescription-forger thief as First Lady sends the wrong message to kids about drug use.

There would be talk of how those selfish, career-driven women are destroying the American family and contributing to the breakdown of society that puts our very way of life itself at risk.

How can it be, then, that McCain and Palin represent wholesome Christian "family values" and the other guys are the party of liberal decadence, sex education for kindergartners, divorce, infidelity and cultural relativism?

Clearly the Democrats truly believe "judge not, lest ye be judged." Either that, or they are afraid to appear as hypocrites if they raise these points -- because they don't believe that people should be publicly shamed about these issues.

The pundit class won't express this perspective for fear of cries of "liberal bias." And of course the right wing -- who froth at the mouth when Bill Clinton gets a blow job but don't praise him or his wife for staying together for their child -- won't speak up.

This is not a double standard -- it's no standard whatsoever. Either the Republicans believe that infidelity disqualifies you from public office -- or they don't. Or maybe they think it's OK so long as you marry the other woman?

Either they believe that addiction is a moral issue -- or they don't. Or maybe it's OK so long as you aren't black or poor?

Either they think that teen pregnancy is a mark of shame on a family, suggesting a failure of the parents to teach good values-- or they don't. Or maybe it's OK so long as you don't have an abortion?

All of those positions represent exactly the kind of moral relativism they have decried amongst Democrats for years. It's not biased to point out when people are saying one thing and doing another. It's called journalism.

Comments

[minerva117]

The Repugs used to call it "situational ethics". Odd, I haven't heard that term from them for a long time!

[Liberal2]

The situation has changed...­and ethics are passé.

[southernsepia]

This is not about issues or character, it is about race.

Much of the electorate is searching for some reason - any reason not to vote for O.

What other reason is there that the polls are still so close in the face of so much evidence that he is the better candidate? The Repub ticket is a joke and yet people are still following them blindly and the corp. media is propping them up.

In a world with an even playing field this would not be a contest. Many people just can't bring themselves to vote for the black guy.

[INDmind]

There's evidence??? Oh geesh, maybe Obama should start talking about it!

[mommadona]

Yes.

We used to call them White Trash.

Didn't matter what their economic situation was,
it was the mindset that was described.

[rubinoff]

You said a mouthful and I must admit, its for true.....b­ut, the country has been lied to for soooo long, they are not comfortable with the truth....T­hey have a 'let's win' mentality and be damn anything else.

[silverball]

....surely the founding fathers are spinning in their graves....­how disgusted would they be about the absence of the 4th estate...s­o important to their beliefs of checks and balances..­..an honest overview of the truth....N­OT stenographers delited with their "special" status of being in the club with the big guys....DU­H....get over yourself and do your job...ques­tion...cha­llenge...B­OTH PARTIES...­.we need to hear it all to make a GOOD decision..­..a vp candidate not availabel for two weeks before anyone from the press can ask her a question??? WTF....let obama try that one....you guys would be hysterical 24/7, and you know it....the pick that we were told was ready on day one....whi­ch day one were they speaking of???....i­f obama had any of this in his background, he would not have won the primary...­for mccain it's....it­'s....it's­....???...­.nothing? reflects nothing???really pathetic..­..but, it's the norm, not the exception.­..the guy from maine interviewing mccain got him on record and video lying again and agian about sarah....n­ever know when reality will strike, but WE THE PEOPLE need more of it....

[INDmind]

17 months of Obama not explaining can't compare to Palin's two weeks. Still waiting on why he said Bill Ayres was just someone he passed in the neighborhood.

[MsNuama]

Thank you. Finally someone calls a spade a spade. Might I add that while very unfortunate, being shot down and imprisoned does not a war HERO make. The guy who jumped on a grenade in Iraq to save his fellow marines/seals is a HERO. These are VERY different acts. In this day and age it's heroic to sign up for war but back then, there was a draft so yo HAD to go.

It'd have been heroic to stick by his wife after her accident when he came back from prison but he couldn't do that either!

It'd be heroic to vote YES for ALL the true HEROES who SIGNED UP for this unnecessary war and are coming back so they'd have the equivalent of the GI Bill that he enjoyed but guess who decided not to show up. The so called WAR HERO.

It is NOT cute that a 17 year old is pregnant on their watch and is with a boy who hasn't even graduated high school. Now the taxpayers are going to pay for their upkeep? Yuck.

[suzonne]

I have been thinking about this a lot and wondered why it hasn't been highlighted in this campaign by the media or the Obama camp.

Thanks for putting it out there Maia!

[amanda mariee]

As long as the so called "journalists" in the main-steam media continue to put their own personal fame/greed before the integrity of the job they have been entrusted with, we are SOL!. Our only hope is that more of the American public will get their information from the internet, from real journalists sans corporate pay checks. However, I sadly belive these venues, like so many rational information sharing outlets, are "preaching to the choir" .

[INDmind]

That's why Hillary was forced to give in. The media was on Obama's side. Still is.

[radiclib]

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Excellent post.
Clear and true.
I've made these same points in HuffPost comments and had them censored.
Liberals need to fight back when attacked.
And we can do it with truth.
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