The private lives of politicians have long been scrutinized in the American public eye. Last week's revelations of unsavory pasts and promiscuous escapades in the political world rekindled the debate over whether personal missteps are relevant issues during campaigns. Though the recent headlines involving former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn seem like par for the political course, the diverging public attitudes on the two sides of the Atlantic reveal cultural differences in how we criminalize immorality.
Public judgment of a politician's personal life is often justified under certain circumstances, such as when criminality is at play. For instance, former Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is under investigation for breaking federal laws after covering up the consequences of his extramarital affair. The crux of the scandal is the legal implication, not the juicy details of the affair's fallout.
We also deservedly poke into other politicians' private lives to reveal fundamental hypocrisy. Gingrich now vying for the American presidency was having his own extramarital affair while peddling his family values agenda and leading impeachment proceedings against similarly unfaithful President Bill Clinton. Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, D-N.Y., was a young up-and-comer with a bright political future and a knack for locking up Wall Street sinners. The tables turned, however, after the FBI discovered he was involved in a large-scale prostitution ring. Most recently, Arnold Schwarzenegger a supposed family man who vetoed two bills that would have legalized gay marriage announced that he and his wife had separated after she learned about his out-of-wedlock child.
Yet private lives that don't fall under the scope of criminality or hypocrisy are still considered fair game for public scrutiny today. Many say that it simply comes with the territory, that politicians should expect an invasive personal background check as a prerequisite for holding public office. This argument is unconvincing as a general standard for vetting our potential leaders. Ideally, we strive to elect the most qualified candidates for the job. Since no candidate is perfect, I would prefer an intelligent, capable leader with a strong command of the issues and the occasional moral vice to any mediocre candidate with an unblemished personal life.
The question at hand is thus whether a politician's immoralities prevent him or her from fulfilling official responsibilities to the best of their ability. The impact of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's affair was confined to his marriage and did not extend to his presidential performance. In fact, turning private matters into public scandal is more likely to hinder a politician's job performance. Many lament that the Monica Lewinsky scandal mired President Clinton's second term, distracting both him and the nation from more pressing policy issues.
The American public could adjust its attitude by learning from its French counterpart. A few years ago, Strauss-Kahn, IMF director and a leader of the French socialist party, admitted to a workplace affair. The French population truly did not give a damn. The personal lives of French public figures are ignored, whether out of concern for privacy or by virtue of their irrelevance to politics. Even after the admission, Strauss-Kahn was considered a leading contender for the Frence presidency in 2012. A few days ago, Strauss-Kahn was arrested for alleged sexual assault in New York City. The French public is responding with caution, and Strauss-Kahn will not emerge from the American judicial system unscathed. When immorality crosses with criminality, French voters care.
The American public's appeal for controversial narrative allows the nonissues of political private lives to take center stage. Political polarization and the media are the enablers, as they continuously dig up old skeletons. The unfortunate consequence lies in the American public inflicting a narrow-minded political punishment that does not always fit the "crime" of immorality.
Was Hillary Clinton's reputation undermined by the Lewinsky scandal? During her mother's campaign for the presidency, Chelsea Clinton responded to this very question with admirable integrity and rectitude: "I do not think that's any of your business."
