Proof positive that character matters in our leaders

The Modesto Bee ^ | 2/24/2003 | JARED WISE

[Utah Girl]

Does character matter? Only one presidential term ago, this was a question that supposedly intelligent people took seriously and debated across the nation. Many people rationalized corrupt personal behavior on the part of our leader as separate and distinct from his ability to effectively govern a country.

[WaveThatFlag]

When faced down the greatest threat in the history of mankind back in the 80's When Charachter Was King.

[NewYorker]

Great post. Thanks.

[Bahbah]

"Is it possible that President Clinton's lack of personal integrity severely limited his ability to address critical issues in a timely manner? "

I would say answering YES to this is a big, fat no-brainer.

[elbucko]

Is it possible that President Clinton's lack of personal integrity severely limited his ability to address critical issues in a timely manner?

Bears repeating. Those of us that felt a little ill or uneasy on the 21st. of January, 1993 were well aware of just such a question and its import.

[Egregious Philbin]

Much of what composed those good times has now been exposed as a house of cards, evidenced by the dot-com implosion, Sept. 11 and corporate scandals involving WorldCom, Enron and Global Crossing.

Hmmm... i'm no fan of Clinton, but you can't blame him for everything that went wrong during his time in office, especially considering the Republican majority. And the Enron scandal points to a lack of personal integrity in the Bush Administration, including the President himself. The Administration's relationship with the company may very well have "severely limited his ability to address critical issues in a timely manner."

[Gryphon2001]

"Yes" may be the short answer, but it is not a complete answer in my mind.

Not only does character matter, but time and time again, history has proven to us that a leader's character is intertwined inseparably from his ability to lead. All of the great leaders in out republic's relatively short lifespan should be proof enough, but the mediocre and utterly ineffective leaders (such as Bill Clinton) provide us with enough evidence of this to seal the question positively for all time.

Then again, liberalism tends to be about seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, doesn't it? The "character counts" question is simply a matter of: Do we see the world the way it is? Or do we see the world the way we want it to be?

[Gryphon2001]

"Yes" may be the short answer, but it is not a complete answer in my mind.

Not only does character matter, but time and time again, history has proven to us that a leader's character is intertwined inseparably from his ability to lead. All of the great leaders in out republic's relatively short lifespan should be proof enough, but the mediocre and utterly ineffective leaders (such as Bill Clinton) provide us with enough evidence of this to seal the question positively for all time.

Then again, liberalism tends to be about seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, doesn't it? The "character counts" question is simply a matter of: Do we see the world the way it is? Or do we see the world the way we want it to be?

[tbpiper]

...lack of personal integrity in the Bush Administration, including the President himself...

You can quit trolling and go back to DU, you egregious piece of shite.

[Tucson]

You must not have been paying attention during the initial playout of the Enron debacle. Enron came to the Bush administration folks with a request for a bale out or some sort of assistance to avoid bankruptcy; an assist they apparently had every reason to expect to be viewed favorably based on their relationship with the previous administration (that would be Clinton).

The Bush people declined to help.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[wayoverontheright]

Great post, thank you Utah Girl.

Lack of character played a large role in creating many of the problems now facing our nation, and it is clear that our ability to determine the true value of character is more acute in trying times than in good times. Is it possible that President Clinton's lack of personal integrity severely limited his ability to address critical issues in a timely manner?

It is surely correct that Clinton's character flaws, including his penchant for chasing interns and his inability to accept responsibility for anything, harmed our country a great deal. Attributing the damage we are now realizing exclusively to his character flaws, however, will prove to be extremely costly as we move forward.

I am Bill Clinton's age, and I too was a campus lefty in the early seventies. I used to sit around with my similarly patriotism-impaired comrades and plan for the overthrow of the "military industrial complex". We dreamed of the day when we could somehow get "one of us" in the White House, and we knew that we could definitely change the course of history, should that occur.

We realized that this person would have to be special. This person would have to be the ultimate con-man, the quintessential chameleon, first in order to get elected, but then to pull off implementing our leftist agenda, which included crippling capitalism and neutering the military.

What Bill Clinton did to this country was not as much the result of character flaws as it was the product of a deliberate, life-long plan to maneuver and manipulate his way to the top, and then proceed to do everything in his considerable power to weaken this country from within.

The fact that it is finally being recognized by some in the media that Clinton's character did our country harm is a good thing, but falls way short of what is needed to explain the phenomenon that was Bill Clinton, and what we have yet to face in the spectre of his plan to return to power through Hillary's election to the office of the Presidency.

Unlike Bill Clinton, I left college and got a job. I changed. He didn't.

[winodog]

Character matters a great deal, always has, always will.
It seems the dems and the liberal media gave their god's from Arkansas a pass because he and she were such absolute vile, evil and disguisting spawns they had no choice but to utter the character does not matter mantra.
They will do it again when the Arkansas antichrist runs for P.
The power of the pen truly is mightier then the power of the sword.

[Egregious Philbin]

You can quit trolling and go back to DU, you egregious piece of shite.

I've been "trolling" on FR for quite a bit longer than you've been here. Just because i'm not a cheerleader for the Bush Administration... Oh, and watch the language there, buddy.

[RooRoobird14]

Rapist Clinton had and still has ZERO moral authority regarding ANYTHING. This is a man who literally turned the Oval Office into a makeshift whorehouse!!!

President Bush is clearly a man of integrity, honor, and deep religious faith. His genuineness comes across clearly even to those who disagree with him. This is a man who has the moral authority to take the courageous stands he has taken--and has inspired support for those stands.

I thank God every day that we have a man like George W. Bush as president. I also thank God that the Clintonista reign of sleaze, lies, and debauchery is finally over.

[The Duke]

Hmmm... i'm no fan of Clinton, but you can't blame him for everything that went wrong during his time in office...

I don't blame Clinton for anything, I blame an American public that put the louse in office amidst the declaration that "character doesn't count".

As for Clinton, he's just the corrupt scumbag that benefited from the possibly-suicidal self-flaggelation of an American public that was half way through a national cocaine binge.

[mikeb704]

Harry Truman said:

"I’ve said this before, but when you get to be in a position of authority, which I was at that time, that’s (the truth) the most important thing there is. You’ve got to be able to count on a man’s word, and if you can’t, forget it. . .I’ve had experience with the other kind as well, and that’s the worst thing there is. A liar in public life is a lot more dangerous than a full, paid-up Communist, and I don’t care who he is."

Too bad Harry couldn't stick around for the Age of Klintoon.

Michael M. Bates: My Side of the Swamp

[steve50]

The Bush people declined to help

BS. Nobody has been jailed for the conspiracy to defraud. A few minor fines and back to business as usual. I'd call that a lot of help.

[Utah Girl]

The Enron scandal occurred because of the new rules put in place by Clinton. President Bush and the Justice Dept has prosecuted and will be prosecuting those companies who were cheating on their taxes, their dividends, etc.

And I do not blame Clinton for everything that went wrong in the Nineties. But I do blame him for kicking the can down the road for someone else to take care of, I blame him for the inattentiveness he gave to our national security, and I blame him for being sexually serviced while he was on the phone begging for support to bomb Serbia (or Bosnia, I forget which.)

[axxmann]

...the Enron scandal points to a lack of personal integrity in the Bush Administration, including the President himself.

Nonsense. Clinton (and Reno) let this corrupt mindset fester and grow for 8 years. Bush (and Ashcroft) came into town and cleaned up the mess.....and you blame Bush?