Virtues maven may have played last slots

USA TODAY ^ | 5/04/03 | Mimi Hall,

[jd777]

WASHINGTON

[jd777]

?

[Mr. Mulliner]

I really wonder if Bennett's gambling kept him from ever running for a high-profile political office. Yes, it was all legal and, as he and his wife claim, he is not addicted. But still it was kind of a skeleton in his closet politically speaking that may have kept him from running on a presidential ticket.

[steplock]

Virtues maven ???

Is that the best (worst?) they could come up with? Damn! They're getting soft on the left.

[rovenstinez]

Would the opposite of Virtues be Vices?

[Misterioso]

Can you imagine a news story containing the word "maven" in your hometown paper of a few years ago? How did Bennett come to be a maven? This is an example of the subliminal condescension that passes for objectivity in the liberal media.

[Cicero]

Well, I really hope it's true. Heavy gambling is not a good thing. But it's addictive, so he may find it pretty hard to give up.

[gcruse]

I want to thank Bennett for inspiring my new tagline.

[AnAmericanMother]

resonating because of Bennett's long-held reputation as a leading conservative voice on moral issues and family values

Hmmmm . . . interesting.

If you're a Liberal DemoRat and don't pretend to have any views on morality or family values, anything goes. But if you try to uphold ANY sort of moral standard, then ANY vice (even if venial, legal, and harmless to others - this reporter admits they were unable to find any "dirt" of that sort here) is going to be used to beat you over the head.

Doesn't bode well for anybody in public life proclaiming any sort of standard, does it?

(full disclosure: I once bet $2 on a horse race. Otherwise, I don't even play poker for matchsticks.)

[holyscroller]

"He's never going again," she said.

Sounds like Mrs. B. has given him the word that one more time, and he will be the ex-Mr. Bennett. That would be my message if my husband spent a dime on this.

[Always Right]

I am not sure how he is a hypocrit since Bennett has never preached against the evils of recreational gambling. Churches have vegas night and bingo all the time to raise money, many don't consider gambling immoral.

[gcruse]

Well, I sure don't consider it immoral. But then I don't write books of virtue, either. I don't gamble because I'm too tight with a buck. Can't stand to throw it away. :)

[xm177e2]

There are no accusations that Bennett has done anything illegal.

Nor even any credible accusations that he has done anything immoral.

[ppaul]

Wednesday, May 07, 2003, 12:04 A.M. Pacific

Letters to the editor

VIRTUE'S CURSE

Former drug czar gets a dose of his own medicine

Editor, The Times:

I was delighted to read that former drug czar, "virtue-crat" and general busybody William Bennett was finally caught being human. Revelations that he has been gambling (and losing) obscene amounts of money over the years confirms the glass house/stones theory ("Ex-Cabinet official bets on far more than virtue," Times, News, May 3).

He has been pointing his finger in the face of America, lecturing and haranguing us for the better part of two decades now, about how he thinks a "virtuous" person behaves.

His grotesque stint as a "drug czar" now seems even more like burlesque. There was Bennett, overfed, addicted to cigarettes, gambling and admitted user of a popular, but physically addictive tranquilizer (alcohol), telling us how dangerous and wicked pot is.

Seeing his face on TV, trying to justify his multimillion-dollar gambling habit as "legal," Bennett now wears the look of so many other "sinners" that Bennett has targeted with his moral bombsight.
Paul Wilson, Seattle

When men grant they err

Bill Bennett is not just a big-time gambling loser; he also lied about his losses, and has engaged in rampant denial of his outrageous behavior. This is not just a story about Bennett, whose hypocritical pontifications have blighted the American landscape for decades, this is a story about every self-righteous public figure who arrogates to himself the position of moral arbiter.

It is a creepy indication of the condition of the American soul and psyche that millions of our fellow citizens listen to the likes of Newt Gingrich, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and dozens of other famous hypocrites and liars.

No wonder the election of George W. Bush, which only happened because of the illegal disenfranchisement of thousands of Florida voters, is widely accepted: The USA has no moral compass, and the greedy are in charge.
Jeremy Smithson, Seattle

Forbearance ceases

Bill Bennett's gambling problem astounds me not so much for the level of hypocrisy involved, but for the simple numbers involved.

If we assume that he spent 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year — gambling over the past eight years, he would have had to have lost $480 per hour to reach the $8 million that he is reported to have gambled away (please pull out your calculator and verify this for yourself).

Is it really possible to pump that much money into slot/video poker machines in an hour? Does he do anything in his free time besides gamble? How much does this guy make per hour? Does he deserve it/need it?

Wake up, folks. Our system is way, way out of whack.
Chris Matthiessen, Bothell