We interrupt this chirpy little mommy-blog for a moment of political postulating...
When I was in school, and I was first feeling my way around the world, trying to determine what my political footing would be, I wrote a research paper with the premise that the private life of a politician is irrelevant to their performance as a leader. I asserted that JFK and FDR were both known philanderers, and they were both excellent presidents--why, then, should it matter if a presidential candidate had been unfaithful to his or her spouse?
I wrote that years before I became someone's wife. It makes me shudder a little now.
The next presidential election is in full-swing, and already we're hearing more than we ever wanted to know about the people running. And I've been interested to observe that many of the candidates I might consider supporting have been blatantly unfaithful to their spouses.
And this bugs me. I'm trying to decide just how much it bugs me.
It's not that I expect the president to be the model of the perfect spouse (there is no such thing)--it's just that, sitting smack dab in the middle of a marriage myself, I see how closely intertwined your character is with your treatment of your spouse. Can I fully trust a leader who cheated on the most important vow he or she ever took?
I bring this up simply because I thought it would be an interesting point to throw out for discussion. How big a deal is it to you that your president is a faithful spouse? How much does that impact your voting? If a candidate who had cheated (but with whom you agreed otherwise politically) ran against a candidate who had been faithful (but with whom you greatly differed politically)--how much weight would you give to the issue of marital fidelity?
My favorite posts are always the ones where y'all jump in for a hearty discussion, so get to it. (And even though I referenced the US election, you international folks feel free to jump in.)
*UPDATE* Thanks for a hearty discussion, everyone. Just a heads-up that I'll be closing comments on this at 2 pm Central on Sunday, simply because these things need to have an end point. If you have something left to say, please remember to stay on-topic.
*UPDATE#2* Comments are now closed. Feel free to continue the discussion at your own blogs! Thanks--
