Character counts We should have known that Bill Clinton is flawed
McCabe, David
David McCabe CHARACTER COUNTS A Clinton voter reconsiders Bill Clinton's ascension to the presidency proved just how deep was the yearning among millions of Americans for a candidate who appeared...
...How we handle ourselves in these areas reveals much about such things as our capacity for self-control, our willingness to honor promises that stand in the way of what we want, and our ease in leading a life that may involve presenting two faces to the world...
...The appeal of this combination of ideals and pragmatism ultimately overwhelmed what was then called the character issue...
...we must all strive for these ideals, at all times...
...Is it so surprising that such a man would countenance selling access to his office, in a manner deeply at odds with the democratic ideals he espouses, to increase his campaign coffers and ensure his reelection...
...There is little reason to think this will change any time soon...
...Most people who voted for Clinton (myself included) were willing to accept both that he had dodged the Vietnam draft and had extramarital affairs...
...But with the presidency come awesome privilege and great responsibility, and voters have a right to ask themselves if a candidate embodies those ideals to a special degree...
...In short, it reveals much about our integrity and strength of character...
...These were sides of the private man, we reasoned, with no bearing on his performance in public office...
...politicians have privacy rights too...
...It reveals a naked desire for political office that renders almost insignificant the grave issues on which such a decision should be based, and makes his principled opposition to the war seem an afterthought...
...There is no way to describe this other than as a failure of character...
...I'm not suggesting that candidates for high office be judged by ideals of integrity and character different from those we endorse in our daily lives...
...To this question there is no obvious answer...
...David McCabe CHARACTER COUNTS A Clinton voter reconsiders Bill Clinton's ascension to the presidency proved just how deep was the yearning among millions of Americans for a candidate who appeared both genuinely committed to a vision of egalitarian democracy and politically shrewd enough to make that vision work...
...Voters will no doubt draw differing conclusions, but it's worth remembering that, for many of us, marriage is our deepest commitment, sex our greatest temptation...
...For this reason those worried by what candidate Clinton acknowledged on national television may not have been greatly surprised that President Clinton, who I suspect remains genuinely committed to the ideals of egalitarian democracy, tolerated for reasons of personal advantage actions totally at odds with those ideals...
...The daily revelations about the Clinton administration's shameless pandering for campaign contributions, however, suggest we were wrong: Character matters...
...On the other question of character-the president's personal life-we must tread lightly, for here, appropriately, much remains unknown...
...The most damning item to surface about Clinton's attempt to evade the draft is something that was never in dispute: his declaration in a letter that his chief aim throughout the draft process was to maintain his "political viability...
...But once such matters become public (a state of affairs facilitated by the Clintons' dramatic 1992 "60 Minutes" interview), citizens have a right to ask what these matters reveal about the candidate...
...Perhaps the most frightening lesson of this affair is the reminder that those most willing to compromise their ideals remain the most likely to get elected...
...It matters because, though the president leads both a public and a private life, in the end it is just one person who leads both...
...David McCabe teaches philosophy at Colgate University...
...This is a startling and ominous admission from a twenty-three-year-old facing a life-and-death question of conscience...
...But the subtleties here should not obscure the overall message: The scandal over political donations is in important respects a logical development given the character of the man we elected president...
...Those who believe Clinton is seriously deficient in this respect, but who still endorse many of the goals of his administration-such as a fairer healthcare system, a more inclusive and tolerant military, and the revitalization of depressed urban areas-must now ask an even harder question: Should they support a man who appears willing to tolerate unethical, antidemocratic practices in pursuing goals that may ultimately make ours a more just and compassionate nation...
...Though liberals like me hate to admit it, the president's unethical (and possibly illegal) selling of influence may just be the logical culmination of aspects of his character displayed in both his handling of the draft and his personal life...
Vol. 124 • April 1997 • No. 7
