How does a candidate’s personal life affect his or her fitness for office?

Eric Ringham May 12, 2011, 5:00 AM May 12, 2011

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced his campaign for president yesterday. Observers have suggested that his two divorces and history of infidelity might be liabilities to his campaign. Today’s Question: How does a candidate’s personal life affect his or her fitness for office?

About the blogger

Eric Ringham

eringham@mpr.org

Duane

I am sure that to most people on this blog, the answer will be yes; however, we only need to look at our current president to find that can be very misleading. President Obama was portrayed as a devout caring family man by the media. We are now finding that his associates and appointee as well as many of his executive directives are shallow and poorly vetted. Were we misled by the media or were we just bad in our selection as a president?

Zeke

Let’s not be coy here, are we not talking about Mr. Newt Gingrich?

I suppose he can run, but I don’t think he’ll ever be elected. After all, we already know he’d just dump us halfway through his term to go be the president of a younger country. On the plus side, a Gingrich candidacy would put conservative family values groups in an awkward and amusing position.

lisa b.

Well, let’s put it this way: If your personal life is in flux, does it affect YOU at your job?

‘Nuff said.

John

Since our representatives typically DO NOT represent the majority MOST of the time it doesn’t matter what their personal life is like.

Most of our representative are bought and paid for buy the strong lobby like the ACLU, they vote the way they are told, not by whats going on at home. This includes the President.

John O.

If one is going to pursue a political career in the 21st century–regardless of political affiliation–the candidate and his or her family has to consider themselves “fair game” at the outset. One only needs to visit the online comments section of media websites on any given day to get a taste of the vitriol that is dished.

It’s a significant reason why a lot of good, smart people who might otherwise consider a run for public office don’t.

Steve the Cynic

If you delve deep enough, you can find in any human being’s past something that a majority of voters would consider a detriment to serving in public office.

GaryF

With today’s Saul Alinksy’s game plan of personal destruction by the competition, a candidate’s personal life will be fodder for the spin doctors.

Steve the Cynic

John, I mostly agree with your point, except that your example of a “strong lobby” is a poor one. Much more powerful than the ACLU are the NRA and the lobbies for big pharma, big oil, the banking “industry” (so called), and other plutocratic interests. Labor unions used to be powerful, too, but have been weakened by union-busting trends in the last three decades.

Chris Oinonen Ehren

While no particular ill or failing should disqualify someone for office, some things can point to hypocrisy – a family values candidate who has a string of affairs, a fiscal conservative who has businesses that depend on subsidies or pork contracts, a champion of public education who’s own children go to a private school, these kind of things are important because they point to an underlying attitude that is in conflict with their policy statements. I think a person’s private life should really be private as much as possible, if nothing else, just so that we can find anybody who is willing to run.

Steve the Cynic

And how ironic, GaryF, that it’s the right wing that’s been using Saul Alinsky’s tactics so effectively, with enhancements by Karl Rove.

Larry M.

I really don’t think that politicians personal life should be a major consideration for political office with the following exceptions:

1. Their life shows significant lack of judgement or continued irresponsibility.

2. Their personal life shows their hypocrisy on an issue, for example if someone is livid for “defending marriage” while being married three times, or leaving their wife when she diagnosed with cancer.

3. Their personal life shows association with hate groups like Minnesota Family Council or other groups promoting bigotry.

GaryF

Steve,

Yep, gotta fight fire with fire. Two can play at that game.

Only one problem, the Dems have most of the media on their side and they wilfully partake in personal destruction politics.

Philip

Without question. It’s a matter of personal integrity. However, a person has to really be touched in the head to run for federal office today and Washington DC brings low even the best candidates. You can’t wear white gloves and then play in the mud and expect the mud to get “glovey.”

Eric

Newt Gingrich has family values like Linday Lohan has sobriety. When a candidate runs on a platform of “family values” but cheats on his family with a host of mistresses like Newt Gingrich did, then his personal life is fair game.

Steve the Cynic

“Only one problem, the Dems have most of the media on their side and they wilfully partake in personal destruction politics.”

GaryF, are you saying the Gang Of Plutocrats don’t do that? And if you believe the myth of liberal bias in the news media, you need an upgrade for your crap detector. With deregulation, consolidation, and the media itself overcompensating for its liberal reputation, corporate news media has had a decidedly right of center bias for at least two decades. After eight years of hounding Bill Clinton, they were falling all over themselves not to criticize George W. Bush while he was lying us into war with Iraq.

steve

i think it matters somewhat but it depends on the person some people can suppress personal life and do fine in office but others have no divide what you see is what you get but it is great question that is very difficult to answer but the way every body is exposed in life it probably does matter a great deal no one can carry skeltons in the closet anymore we need to be more trusting and give people a chance!

Stan

Steve the Cynic you need to cast your Plutocrat net a little broader than just “right” leaning organization. Unions, like SEIU and AFT, wield a lot of power and have a significant influence on legislation. Just like the NRA, they obfuscate fact and dissemination outright false information.

GaryF

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/05/11/dont-hear-george-soros-ties-30-major-news-organizations/#ixzz1M8trgdMt

You don’t hear much about Sugar Daddy George Soros on NPR do you?
Linda

Hypocrisy matters to me and does influence my lack of support for Newt. I think each case would have to be weighed in mind before I could decide to support a candidate or not.
Clark

Yes, of course it matters. Newt should remain on the sideline. Way too much baggage. Yes he is smart but don’t want him as my candidate.

Though I don’t support obama’s political views of supporting the freeloaders, punishing sucess and rewarding falure, it appears whatever personal issues he had in the past are of limited signifigance.

Perhaps, this is one reason he was successful in the last election.

The far left radical democrats will spread lies about any republican candidate along with ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN , MSNBC, New York times, most city dailies and the union thugs. The Republicans will do their best to spread lies about obama along with Fox.
Neil

The question is somewhat oblique. Could he be fit for office? Possibly. Would I vote for him based on his personal indiscretions? Probably not.
Van

This article is about Obama’s personal life and if that affects his ability to run again?

Apparently it doesn’t matter about one’s past and current affiliations. Not enough people bothered to learn about Obama’s life: Worked and was endorsed by Bill Ayers ( Mr. radical anti-establishment 60’s bomber with the Weathermen) , Andy Sterns ( SEIU) and the Radke brothers, Anita Dorn, Reverend Wright (the,” I hate whites Black Liberation Theology church-hate monger), how about Obama inviting the rapper “Common”( the child of a well healed NBA player who then becomes a radical common black urban man’s rapper..actually is a rather useless sophomore poet advocating the honoring of another radical who killed police and raps about denigrating women ( classy fellow?) Obama admitted he did cocaine in college, and he refused to release his medical records while McCain did so..What is he hiding..

So you see, one’s past personal life apparently means little to voters UNLESS it is because the media chooses to ignore those stories and thus keeps the public naive?

Now did we ever_ hear MPR or NPR do stories on Obama’s personal life from college to present and his affiliations with George Soros and Ayers? Nope_ but they only describe Ayers as a great Illinois professor..and Reverend Wright as a successful Babtist….How come NPR refuses to discuss Soros’s past 2008-2009 interviews where he said, ” The only thing standing in the way of our preferred one world global order is the USA..or that he bragged how he became addicted to collapsing economies and regimes around the world or that France found him guilty of trader fraud and Indonesia would like him hung?

Until truth and openness is in the media, these questions are meaningless unless it is to stir the anti-Left movement as George Soros says is his plan..no one wonders now why Soros donated a $ 1 million plus, to NPR for a new “investigative unit”? Did you ever hear the stories on NPR or elsewhere how Soros’s 504c groups attacked beck and Fox News cable? Nope because that would have made Soros and his affiliates such as Obama, look pretty anti-American.
Larry M.

Van, you are delusional if you don’t think that the “liberal” press hasn’t reported on Soros and Ayers and Reverend Wright. Maybe when you clicked off of Faux News for that second the other stations were reporting other news of that day. I actually think that Reverend Wright’s church should have lost it’s 501c3 nonprofit status for it’s blatant foray into politics, the same way I think the catholic church should have lost their nonprofit status for mentioning John Kerry. But I also think that the catholic church and its bishops should be brought up for criminal charges for its/their obstruction of justice when it comes to pedophile priests.
suestuben

I think one’s personal life is probably the best indicator of how someone will perform in the public spotlight. If people live through early adulthood with wild and semi-unethical behaviors, it can point to the same tendencies in later life. Conversely, an individual who is able to practice self-control and think through consequences to their actions while younger, will continue to approach later life decisions in a thoughtful and ethical manner. I would like to see more attention paid to a politician’s actions in their 20’s and 30’s; if they show loose morals in those years, they will probably continue to play fast and loose in their later years.
Matthew

Even assuming for the sake of argument that a politician’s personal life does not affect his or her performance in the office, the decisions that politician makes in his or her personal life is an indicator as to how wisely the politician will make decisions while in office. Take Newt Gingrich for example. Here is a man who’s been married three times. His two divorces were all attributable to his infidelity. In one case, he cheated on his wife as she was battling cancer. For these reasons, we have dismissed John Edwards, and rightly so. But then why does Newt Gingrich get a pass? He is a careless, manipulative, dishonest, disloyal, undependable, chaotic, and self-destructive person. In short, he’s unfit for office.
Sue de Nim

Two ways: (1) How one treats one’s family and friends gives an indication of one’s character and integrity, or lack thereof. (2) One’s personal affiliations and associations may create conflicts of interest.
Glenn

When I got a look at Jenny Flowers, I voted for Bill. Someone I finally understand!!

When I saw Newts ladys, I had to ask “Why??” Is he gonna run with Ron Starr again??

When Nixon was elected- I could not understand, considering his HUAC activities.

Ron Raygunz was ran by Mrs. Ron-

Jimmy had a very funny brother-

Bush one and two…Ha!!!

LBJ was left with Ike and Johns mess.

And now…

Time will tell.
kennedy

Didn’t vote for Mark Dayton partially due to his history of chemical abuse and depression.

Wouldn’t vote for John Edwards partially due to his poor marital behavior.

Wouldn’t vote for Newt Gingrich for the same reason.

A candidates choices in their personal life matter in so much as they indicate their values, reliability, and fitness for office. In fact, what a cadidate has done is much more important to me than what they say.
Raul

Finally_ this from The Blaze.com explains why America is so uninformed about candidates’ personal lives: Recall George is the founder of The Open Society_ a one world order group that undermines America and our liberty. Look it up!

“Fox News has just published part one of a two-part series on George Soros and his influence on the media. Part one, excerpted below, points out Soros’s ties to over 30 news outlets, including ABC, where Christine Amanpour sits on a board that “takes Soros cash:”

When liberal investor George Soros gave $1.8 million to National Public Radio, it became part of the firestorm of controversy that jeopardized NPR’s federal funding. But that gift only hints at the widespread influence the controversial billionaire has on the mainstream media. Soros, who spent $27 million trying to defeat President Bush in 2004, has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets – including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC.

Prominent journalists like ABC’s Christiane Amanpour and former Washington Post editor and now Vice President Len Downie serve on boards of operations that take Soros cash. This despite the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethical code stating: “avoid all conflicts real or perceived.”

This information is part of an upcoming report by the Media Research Centers Business & Media Institute which has been looking into George Soros and his influence on the media.

The investigative reporting start-up ProPublica is a prime example. ProPublica, which recently won its second Pulitzer Prize, initially was given millions of dollars from the Sandler Foundation to “strengthen the progressive infrastructure” – “progressive” being the code word for very liberal. In 2010, it also received a two-year contribution of $125,000 each year from the Open Society Foundations. In case you wonder where that money comes from, the OSF website is http://www.soros.org. It is a network of more than 30 international foundations, mostly funded by Soros, who has contributed more than $8 billion to those efforts.”

AND Who does Soros NOT control but he threatens every month? yup, the winner is Fox News cable. The last bastion of fair and balanced news..but don’ t confuse their news with their opinion pundits. This is why I withdrew a MPR/NPR donation. MPR and NPR needs to return to being like Fox news_ present both sides and present facts and numbers, not derogatory opinions as you see on MNBC too often or their lack_ of reporting news.
Steve the Cynic

What happened? Did Glenn Beck refer his audience to this site and say, “Hey, folks, why don’t you parrot some of my conspiracy theories over there”?

The things people believe! George Soros taking over the world? Give me a break! He can’t even buy a presidential election effectively. At least he was open about it, in contrast to, say, the Koch brothers.
Raul

To Steve the Cynic: Once again, true to the Progressive style, with those like Steve the Cynic posts, there is no rebuttal of facts from him. Just name calling.

Yet, Glenn Bck’s predictions of the middle east and our economy over the past 2 years has been spot on. I took his research an opinions/predictions and bought gold when it was $390.00/once a few years back..and that is now well past doubled twice over. I can retire next year.

Beck was also right about the spread of violence in Tunisia to Libya, right again on the waste and political cronnism of the bailout plans. Right again on his prediction that Communist Van Jones should be ousted as a Green Jobs Czar. Right again on Soros’ plans and his work behind the scenes to manipulate the DFL by co-opting with the Marxist style Progressives…..i.e., the government controls private sectors while appearing_ to let private business have ownership. How about the state department’s work with Egypt last year to rally the citizens? How about the fact that Soros paid a million to get Qadafi’s son into the London School of Economics and then was annoyed when Qadafi’s son was kicked out for plagerism? How about the fact that Soros funded in 2008 the marketing group, “The Project”, designed to improve Omar Qadafi’s world image because he gave Soros the impression he would support The Open Society?

Steve the Cynic either hates to learn about George Soros and his one world governance Open Society ( a misnomer but a cute, seemingly harmless but catchy name) or Steve is just a paid blogger to monitor these sites to discredit dissent. from non-progressives. He does nothing different than the mainstream media does_ discredit, dissenters, name call and then hope the stories go away to protect their agenda. People need to read and do their research on the Soros and Obama connections.. Fundamental transformation of America is what China hoped to see happen , going back to the late 1960’s. and Obama’s friend and colleague, Bill Ayers supported that movement. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, smells like a duck_ place your bets.
Steve the Cynic

“…or Steve is just a paid blogger to monitor these sites to discredit dissent. from non-progressives.”

Don’t be ridiculous, Raul. Do you really think anyone would pay me to do this? You’re more gullible than I thought. And again, you betray your ignorance when you describe marxism as “the government controls private sectors while appearing_ to let private business have ownership.” Have you ever actually read anything by Karl Marx? The core tenet of marxism is the outright, explicit, overt abolition of private property. It’s such a ridiculously extreme idea, hardly anyone takes it seriously any more. Not even the leftiest of the lefties I know would go anywhere near that far. And to say that Obama, who is disappointingly centrist to those on the left wing of the Democratic Party, is a marxist is just preposterous. As for me, I’m equally cynical of both the far left and the far right. Thirty years ago, it was mostly the loony left that was swaying public opinion with over-the-top emotional rhetoric. Now it’s mostly the ridiculous right. When will we learn?
Kevin VC

One’s personal life should be a reflection of ones mindfulness of their civic duty to the community and people they live with.

Personal hobbies in my mind have no effect on my opinion of a person, although if they share the same ones as mine it would be a common point of discussion.

But beware the trap of the ‘pot calling the kettle black.’

Take case in point the Grinch who went nuts against President Clinton with the Monica scandal…. To me it seemed more of a distraction from the policies and issues affecting more then just two people.

AND very hypocritical of the Grinch for his dumping his, what was it? second or third wife? while at the hospital under cancer treatment.

She later had to seek help from the community just to live. A heart breaking story if I ever heard one. And it oddly seems to match the Grinch’s personality: Cold, self serving, and I would say ‘evil’.

So before one steps into ones personal private lives, remember ‘He who hath not sinned throw the first stone.’

How about we stick to issues, not the gossip columns?
Steve

Yes…. do I need to say more?

Cheers,

Steve
Steve

Yes,,, do I need to say more? No…