What Do You Expect Of Your Publicly Elected Officials?

[sass_in_the_pants]

I mean, in their personal lives.

Governor Elliot Spitzer's whoreing around.

Detroit's very own Kwame was having an affair with a subordinate and very well may be involved in covering up the murder of a stripper.

Clinton got impeached for it.

Larry Craig was even dirtier than a bathroom stall at the airport, in the bathroom stall at the airport.

We elected them. We CHOSE these people. These men are the best of the best. These men are supposed to REPRESENT us.

There is the camp that says personal lives are exactly that and should not be our business. There are those that say these men are public officials and should behave, well, at least in a way that doesn't get them arrested or impeached.

What do YOU say? Do you care if your politician can keep his pants on? (or his powder out of his nose, or whatever his vice may be).

[Shade Everdark]

Strictly about the sex scandals, I am more bothered by the corruption that often surrounds it--the hypocrisy that is almost always central to such cases--than I am by the use of prostitutes, or by extra-marital affairs.

In Spitzer's case, his supposed crackdown on prostitution rings before being caught having visited a hooker himself leads me to conclude that resigning was the right thing for him to do. Not so much because, in my opinion, it's so terribly awful having visited a prostitute, but simply because of the hypocrisy exhibited. Otherwise, I'd quite honestly not give much of a shit.

In Kwame's case, he's done enough other stuff that's of more immediate and overreaching importance that his dalliances are the least of my concerns. But he's a hypocrite too.

That's mostly what it comes down to: hypocrisy. That's why I didn't care about Bill Clinton's affair with Monica. He wasn't shouting from the mountaintops about his moral fortitude and how everyone else needed to follow exactly what he said, while he was doing the precise opposite behind his closed doors.

As for issues with drugs, that's a little more convoluted, as it involves possible impairment and addiction and other messiness.

[Troy Spiral (13)]

I really could not care less about a public officials private life unless it seems to be a direct conflict of interest with the work we expect them to do. For the most part we waste too much time on soap-opera trivia when there are real issues and real problems to be solved and considered.

But, a public officials private life that includes, lets say...getting a blow job on the side (which i don't feel is relevant at all in and of itself) does pose a problem when its found out they are were being dishonest about their private life. Thus, calling into question what else they might be dishonest about .

Overall though I'd continue to stress, especially in the context of the media, focuses far to much attention on such things and glosses over the massive amount of much more serious issues that should get this days and weeks long coverage that is reserved for only the most As-The-World-Turns type sex, lies & video tape dramas.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

One hell of a lot more than I am getting and at the same time a hell of a lot less.

I don't want a hand out.

I don't want your money or special programs.

Run my fucking country CORRECTLY. Not the "Right way".The "Right way" is not fucking working.

I don't expect you to fix the economy. Stop it. It's not your fucking job. Change the laws so that small businesses are not punished. Why the fuck is sell employment taxed more than being employed? Explain that to me in a way that makes perfect fucking fair sense and I'll shut the fuck up. Outlaw futures trading if you really feel the need to over regulate something.

My point is...

I expect the to Govern with Wisdom and Heart.

and Leave me alone.

[nilhil_glory]

i think from now on im going to refer to detroit as a monarchy untill king kilpatrick the first gets booted

just for the fact that god told him when he was 6 years old kwame would become mayor of detroit

as it is his divine ordainment.. king kwame reigns supreme

[Steven]

in a nutshell, I beleive that the charactor of a man or woman always presents itself in due time.

and therefore if you are an elected official that utilizes public funds and resources and your closet is dirty, in time those public resources will be accessed to cover your dirty ass and in the end John Public pays the highest price.

I also believe that if your a liar then guess what? you tell lies.

so if you tell lies about who's sucking your dick you will lie about other things too, because you are practiced at telling lies because hey - your a liar. Thats what you do.

and to add to that while Im thinking about it if you present yourself as a public figure who's focus is on servitude overall and the benefit of your fellow man but you fuck around on your wife and kids with skanks and high class whores and you manipulate the system and play within the gray areas to keep you out of trouble well then guess what? your a liar again - and you cant even take care of family number one (yours, dickhead) and so why in the world should I trust your judgement when it comes to families at large when ultimately you have proven yourself to be a ME FIRST type of processor Mr or Mrs public servant?

And if your that sort of person, why who knows what lengths youd go to to bend the rules or cover up inquiries given the nature of your charactor in measure with the degree of power you hold?

Yes Hypocrisy is present.

But crimes are being committed as well.

Here is the standard - and if your above it - well then you have become the enemy of the people, because the people are beneath you.

maybe some people are cool with that, they like to be beneath the feet of those who so declare themselves as such.

[the eternal]

I expect my public officials to do whores in their private lives, and use public money to fund it.

Anything better is a bonus!

[ttogreh]

It's not the whoring. It's not the lying to his wife. It's the hypocrisy. He broke up prostitution rings as a prosecutor. If he had not touched prostitution rings as a prosecutor, and then got caught visiting a prostitute... I feel that he could have been able to weather the storm. The hypocrisy.

I am guilty of many sins, but I try to not be self righteous. Hypocrites... they anger me in a special way.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

and the fact that he used public funds to get said hookers doesn't bother you?

[phee]

and the fact that he used public funds to get said hookers doesn't bother you?

It certainly bothers me...

And all of the public funds he also spent to fight off the court cases and pay-offs... yeah that is a bit irksum as well

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

and it bothers me as well...

[ttogreh]

I was unaware of his usage of public funds. Do you mean his salary as a prosecutor and a governor, or did he actually misappropriate public funds?

Hypocrisy and stealing... what a bag of used douche Spitzer turned out to be.

[Msterbeau]

I expect them to die.

[odims_sphere]

I expect them to die.

And one way or another your expectation will come true.

[Steven]

It's not the whoring. It's not the lying to his wife. It's the hypocrisy. He broke up prostitution rings as a prosecutor. If he had not touched prostitution rings as a prosecutor, and then got caught visiting a prostitute... I feel that he could have been able to weather the storm. The hypocrisy.

I am guilty of many sins, but I try to not be self righteous. Hypocrites... they anger me in a special way.

Dude - thats called being a criminal

[Shade Everdark]

I expect them to die.

Hey, if you put them on a big table with a laser that cuts them in half starting at the genitals, I get to watch, right? I'll bring the popcorn. The gold popcorn.

[Morbid Side]

I blame Elected Officials for doing shit like this. Why do they have to carry perfect images? I don't think it will be remembered forever. For now, it will make headlines on several fronts, but to say I am disappointed in their integrity would be an understatement. For any one to accurately predict what they do in their personal life is their business. Nobody is perfect, we all have our vices. Simply put, the guy did the right thing - he resigned.

[Msterbeau]

Hey, if you put them on a big table with a laser that cuts them in half starting at the genitals, I get to watch, right? I'll bring the popcorn. The gold popcorn.

Glad to see someone got that reference....

[Hellion]

quit wasting our hard earned taxdollars on bs and start doing something to better this country BTW a hammer should not cost 300 dollars

[sass_in_the_pants]

Hmmm...interesting responses so far.

There seems to be a number of people who don't find philandering public officials to be such a bad thing. Maybe I'm a prude. Maybe I ask too much. But I think if you are going to lie to your wife, someone who, at least at some point, you loved madly, deeply and truly, someone who you VOWED, not just promised on a stump, but VOWED that you would be faithful to, well, if you are going to lie to her, then what the hell are you going to do to me?

But, I find it interesting that so many people aren't bothered by dishonesty in their public officials' personal lives. Why is that so?

[Shade Everdark]

Glad to see someone got that reference....

Well, it IS rather apropos, making an indirect allusion to Pussy Galore in a thread indirectly referencing Spitzer's recent dalliances.

[Kit Kat P]

Actually, Spitzer is loaded just like his daddy, he only spent his own money thru a fake company that he used to hide where the money was going.

[creatureofthenyte]

I expect them to be complete fuck ups, both personally and professionally, and so far, some of them have exceeeded my expectation.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

Hmmm...interesting responses so far.

There seems to be a number of people who don't find philandering public officials to be such a bad thing. Maybe I'm a prude. Maybe I ask too much. But I think if you are going to lie to your wife, someone who, at least at some point, you loved madly, deeply and truly, someone who you VOWED, not just promised on a stump, but VOWED that you would be faithful to, well, if you are going to lie to her, then what the hell are you going to do to me?

But, I find it interesting that so many people aren't bothered by dishonesty in their public officials' personal lives. Why is that so?

Because we vote for the Person. You have to trust them.

This man invoked the letter of the law and ignored the Spirit of the Law. He is known for busting an international prostitution ring. The FBI looked at him because he was setting off all kinds of warning bells for shady money transfers. His personnel life interfered with his public duty. He lost the public trust. He threw it all away, every

thing he had built over his career, so he could get some pussy.

Cheating on your spouce... paying to break your marriage vows... I know it doesn;t bother everybody... but for some of us, that is breaking the ultimate trust. The prostitute thing just adds hypocrisy to his sins.

An oath breaking hypocrit... running your State government... yeah.. thats a good idea.

[Hellion]

I never expect anything good from any POS politician,most are dishonest thieves.