Don't Take the Bait

I agree with the premise of this piece by actor Alec Baldwin, who is sort of coming to the defense of Gov. Mark Sanford and is trying to make the case that adultery is a private matter and should remain so. (He also, unfortunately, gets in a couple of ugly digs against folks from the Clinton-era.) I wish this was only a private matter. The governor essentially gave up his responsibilities as governor of a state to go have a secret meeting with a mistress on another continent, and in previous taxpayer-funded trips (at least one) did the same thing. The affair is a sad, private matter. His responsibilities as governor are altogether public.

Comments

[Brian37]

Alec Baldwin is a "saved" Christian. On this matter I agree as an atheist, but he should resign.

He should resign(only as an appeal, not from a legal standpoint), not because he is a human. But because he ran off and ignored the office he was elected for.

When Bill Clinton had his scandal, my attitude was the same. He shouldn't have lied about it, most importantly to his wife. But, what right did we have? SHE was the only person to decide how she should deal with it. My advice to Hillary, at the time, would have been to divorce him and sue him(AND I VOTED FOR HIM). But that is still a separate issue than his ability to do the job.

Do any of us demand the arrest of our neighbor if we find out that they are having an affair? If that is the case, then why don't we stone adulterers to death like the Taliban?

If you become famous for whatever reason, politics, sports, music or entertainment, you live in a fishbowl, and if you chose that path, I don't have sympathy for you.

BUT, there is a pragmatic issue(free speech which should be protected) of what we can say about the actions of others, vs legally what we should do.

Do we really want to be morality police? Because every sect, every party and every nation has a wide range of what "morality" is. I doubt there are many here that haven't done things they regret. All of us look back at something we wish we hadn't done. But that does not make what we did illegal, merely unwise.

From a moral standpoint, no one likes being lied to. What he did wrong(from a legal standpoint, yet to be proven) was leave without telling anyone.

From a personal relationship standpoint, his wife should leave him and sue him, just like I thought Hillary should have done, even though I think he should have remained president. From a legal standpoint, if this Governor could do the job, outside this issue, we would be fools to focus on the sideshow.

Mind you, that last paragraph is retorical and not aimed at one politician in history. It merely means that sometimes our focus is far too much on our personal utopias and not on the pragmatism of what it means to be human.

In both cases, Bill and this Governor, it wasn't wise that they did it, because of the hiding and lying to the spouse. But, that doesn't make it illegal, otherwise we should stone both of them to death.

[cat1dog]

I just posted under - “The Sanford I know will repent for his actions” - The topic under this one - Then I read this from these links -

http://current.com/items/90270371_sanford-was-harsh-critic-of-clinton-affair-called-president-a-rascal.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/sanford-was-harsh-critic_n_220325.html

I still feel sorry for his family but the more I read he sounds like a hypocrite - A person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess -

I did not know he said all this about Clinton - Now it sounds like he is talking about himself -

“he was often a harsh critic of the president for his marital misconduct.”

This is "very damaging stuff," Sanford declared at one point, when details of Clinton's conduct became known. "I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign)... I come from the business side," he said. "If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he'd be gone."

"I think what he did in this matter was reprehensible”

“he proclaimed that Clinton was likely to get away with his infidelities and indiscretion because he already had the perception of someone who was untrustworthy”

"In politics you can get away with anything as long as it's what's expected," he was quoted saying in a Boston Globe article published in December 1998. "If people expect you to be a rascal, you can be a rascal."

“he insisted that Clinton could not operate with any effectiveness because he'd been untruthful”

"The issue of lying is probably the biggest harm, if you will, to the system of Democratic government, representatives government, because it undermines trust," he told CNN. "And if you undermine trust in our system, you undermine everything."

[Walt]

Steven Baldwin is the "saved christian", not Alec.