Questions:
- In a performance-driven society, should we care about the personal lives of our politicians and corporate leaders?
- If we hold our leaders to extraordinary moral standards, will we turn off a younger generation of talented kids? Will Gen Y ‘opt out’ of leading for fear of being scrutinized?
- As HR Pros, do we want the media covering the economy, the military escalation in Georgia, or the moral character of John Edwards?
What do you guys think?
I would like A) and B) please.
Edwards is no longer a candidate for President…so why the hell is his philandering a national issue?!?
(I mean, does it make him a first-class jerk-well DUH! But not a national issue worthy of endless news cycles)
clearly this was a nail in the coffin on any kind of VP role. I think this is more evidence of what we consider “news” these days. Lets get distracted from any real issue to move on to a scandal.
@Sherry You got it. Also, if we’re talking about infidelity, let’s talk about it across the board. GOP, Democrat, Independents, etc.
@MegBear You’re right about the VP role. Also, you’re right about distracting us from real news with scandal. So stupid.
The press has been salivating over this story for months, but didn’t dare print for fear of being labeled as being on the same level as the Inquirer. Edwards made the tactical decision of releasing his statement on a Friday, which is a day when the press are usually oblivious to such things, supported by the Olympics opening, a double whammy he no doubt hoped would bury his news. Unfortunately for him, the press loves scandals, has waited to report on this one, and Obama took a week off, so until the Olympics opening ceremony, Edwards WAS the news.
Should the media have reported on it in such depth? Maybe not, but reporters are people too; they probably felt as disappointed in him as those of us who had emotionally and financially supported Edwards’s candidacy. The worst for me was is reaction when he was busted in the hotel - panicking and running off to a bathroom where he held the door closed against the reporter. That is a sad reaction for someone who proposed to be this country’s leader, and said more to me about his true character than his affair and subsequent lying. It was definitely a performance-driven moment.
I think it’s fair to report on these things because it helps us see these people as people and not as demigods, but it shouldn’t devolve into a circus - after reporting the facts, the media should move on to more substantive issues.
I just don’t understand why people in politics can’t keep it in their pants.
@Robyn I think it’s hard to keep the circus aspect out of the reporting. It takes on a life of its own, doesn’t it?
@rachL I would say, “I just don’t understand why middle-aged dudes can’t keep it in their pants.” It’s a dude thing, not a partisan/political thing.
I don’t care who he sleeps with but don’t deny it, then admit it, and act like regret and shame are your new thing.
Be honest, I wanted a piece and I took it.
I haven’t been that interested in John Edwards since he categorically said he wasn’t interested in the VP position so to hear about his indiscretions isn’t really shocking (or newsy)…it’s just distracting.
About the Gen-Yers opting out…Judging from conversations with friends, I sort of get the feeling that this type of stuff doesn’t phase us as much as other age groups. Speaking generally, of course we don’t like it and hopefully we will make better decisions, especially at the intersection of our personal and professional lives, but I’m more concerned about results than who you sleep with.
Great post, Laurie!
well i hate to burst everyone’s bubble, but i’ve just worked at a place where judgments were made about your “moral choices” and if deemed unworthy, the documentation trail began to get you out of there.
seriously.
so while we might like to think everything is performance-based in life. it’s really not. not everywhere anyway.
and yes. i’ve made it clear on my blog how i feel as someone who supported edwards. and yes. it’s about trust. (and if future generations don’t get that, i worry.) if he had been honest about it when he was asked about it, when he knew they had the story and his family had already worked through it, it’d be different. as they say…it’s not about the sex, it’s about the cover up. (and if his family can’t trust him, how can we?)
so personally?
i’d like to hear about all of the above.
i like to be well-informed.
oh. and i’d also like to know about the olympics and how phelps and dara torres are doing in their races for their own personal achievement. i find it inspiring.
all the best!
deb
p.s. i think i’m going to have to write about how one side of the political spectrum would be reacting if it were the other side of the spectrum getting caught in a “scandal” like this.
i have to say, it doesn’t surprise me that politicians end up having affairs. affairs are so amazingly common in america… why should politicians be any better than the standard american citizen? that being said, i do think people should be able to control this part of their life. i think it’s sad that affairs are so common…
that being said, i’d feel a bit better if they’d just admit it, and move on. i agree that the whole cover-up stuff is stupid, and does affect their credibility.
also, i’d like to point out, almost everyone has something in their past they don’t want to come out… and with this new generation putting their lives on the internet, inappropriate pictures are everywhere… if we want a politician with no ’scandal’, i think we’ll be coming up short.
/ramble
I find Lady Angora and Lola’s answers interesting. It occurs to me that one of the reasons politicians lie so much about their affairs could be because they still have it in their minds that they can’t win elections without the votes of the people who take very hard moral stances. Or could it be simply because the number of the affairs they’d have to admit to would make people wonder when they had time for their work…
@robyn It occurs to me that one of the reasons politicians lie so much about their affairs could be because they still have it in their minds that they can’t win elections without the votes of the people who take very hard moral stances. That’s the most insightful comment I’ve heard in ages. You are so right. I say, who the hell are we to take such hard moral stances? The rest of the world responds, it’s my right to judge you. ::sigh:: It’s like we’re a third-world country that focuses on old traditions instead of reasoning & logic.
While I do find it entertaining when someone who has bashed homosexuals in the past ends up in a “gay sex scandal”, I really don’t give a crap about people’s affairs (homo or otherwise). I just don’t.
We’re talking about politicians here. If politicians are supposed to be moral leaders, I gotta tell ya, they’ve been woefully inadequate for about a BAZILLION years. I think of “moral leaders” as people like the Dali Llama. People who stand for the morals of the people who believe the same as they do. Politicians are in the business of law & government defined justice, not morality. At least that is how I see it.
I kind of like GOP homo scandals.