Yes... people make mistakes... and forgiveness should be earned and given.
A mistake can truly be accidental -- trip over a crack in the sidewalk -- or a mistake can be done deliberately (kissing a staff member when you are married) that one calls a mistake but only after he is caught. Congressman McAllister didn't stumble upon the staff member in the dark and accidentally kiss her thinking it was his wife -- he sought the staffer out, thought about it, and made his move. That 'mistake' was deliberate. The acknowledgment it was wrong occurred after the video came out.
Having noted the foregoing, I think Congressman McAllister should resign -- spare all of us, his wife, his 5 children, his voters and the rest of America (he serves on Congressional Committees that represent all of us). He is certainly not the first to cheat on his wife in Congress (and a kiss is not axe murder) but he should have some self respect and go.
If he stays, everyone will forever be whispering when he is seen (that's the guy with 5 kids who got caught kissing a staffer that went viral on the internet!). Does he really want to be the snicker target in the halls of Congress? Do you want to guess how many have already watched the video on the internet once the word got out about it?
Of course he should be allowed to seek redemption from his family -- but on his time, and his own dime. What he does on the home front is his business, not ours. I hope he can repair this with his family.
But, if he stays in Congress, not only will he be a weakened Congressman (whispering and snickering does that to you), but he sets a very poor example. We want young people to emulate Members of Congress but for that to happen, the conduct has to be good, not cheap.
Coke snorting Congressman Radel did the right thing -- he resigned. And, as noted above, many, many others have displayed cheap behavior before and not resigned (and I have not blogged they should), but enough is enough. We have to stop cheap behavior of our elected officials some time and Congressman McAllister is a good place to start.
Remember, you can't expect or demand good behavior from young people if you don't have it yourself. Young people learn their behavior and their values from it us.
What do you think?
PS: The staffer is cheap, too. She knew her boss is married. Women don't get off the hook with me -- it takes two to tang0, right?