What's scandalous personally seems to change over time. I mean being gay was scandalous a few years ago, and people could be blackmailed because of it. This is where the danger comes in, if a person can be compromised because of their personal behavior, then that behavior could become professionally scandalous. A drug scandal is dangerous, because drugs affect a person's judgment, again that could lead to professionally scandalous behavior. Sexual scandals, for the most part, I believe, are way overblown; they are between the man and his wife, not the public. I think politicians know that people will be outraged and use this to bring someone down, when they don't have any real goods on the person. Newscasters love sexual scandals, because the ratings go sky high, and they milk them for all they're worth. I mean charismatic men in office attract the ladies and all marriages are vulnerable at times, so eliminating a charismatic leader just because he's too sexy doesn't seems very smart. I still think much of our sexual behavior is related to hormones, and some people have to be so strong to refuse all the advances they get. Others don't have to be strong at all; they don't have many urges, and fewer advances.
A professional scandal, on the other hand, is a whole other problem. We are paying the person to do a professional job, and if he isn't fully protecting the public, he isn't doing his job. Anything that is even mildly professionally scandalous would ruin his integrity because a politician works for the people, not the other way around. So if the personal behavior leads you to make poor professional decision, then it has become professionally scandalous. I think most people were angry with President Clinton, not because of the affair, but because he lied to the American public. I always thought southern gentlemen lied about things like that to protect the "lady", so I could easily excuse his lying. |