Does It Matter? *UPDATE*

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--