As the Republican race for the Presidential nomination starts to unfold, there will be a lot of individual times that you scratch your head, and wonder about why a candidate says something about a particular issue.
I can certainly tell you that I have heard from a lot of grassroots GOP donors and activists who feel that how a candidate conducts themselves in their personal life is an important indicator of how they will perform in an office of public trust – and I agree.
I will admit that it makes it more challenging for me to place my faith in a candidate and what they are telling me when they have been unfaithful to their spouse.
I’m a realist — and the sobering and unfortunate fact is that over half of the marriages in the United States end up in divorce — and amazing and startlingly depressing figure. It is also the case that infidelity occurs in many of these instances.
But there is also truth to the statement that the two best times to judge someone’s character is when everyone is watching them, and when no one is watching them.
I don’t pretend to know or care to know the personal circumstances of why some people do what they do. But I certainly can tell you that, as someone who has a little bit of experience in politics, that having long ago made his apology for having an affair himself, Rudy Giuliani should refrain from absolving others of that kind of activity, as he has surrendered any kind of standing to speak to the subject. When he brings it up, it evokes commentaries like this one.
Rudy Giuliani has an impressive record of rising up to meet challenges during a difficult time in our country’s War on Terror, and has a pretty comprehensive set of views and opinions on significant matters of importance facing America today. In my opinion, this gives him plenty about which to talk besides the issue of his infidelity, or that of others.
I’m not planning on writing on this again, because I am assuming that Giuliani is not going to bring up the subject again.
Frankly, I was surprised to read about his comments at all on the disheartening Gingrich revelations.