[moneyrunner]

An excellent summary of the Bennett Gambling controversy. I hope all you moralizers examine your own souls.

[montag813]

Bennett's gambling, as a private citizen, justifies public exposure according to his critics. But, they say, Clinton's adultery — never mind the steamer trunk of lies and other sins he lugged into the Oval Office — should have been off-limits

Sums it up very well.

[billbears]

No it's an example of a neocon publication giving another slide to one of their own

[MrLeRoy]

As for hypocrisy, neither author mentions the word.

And if they did, he'd bash them for editorializing. What whitewashing tripe. Bill "Drug Czar" Bennett and his apolgists can kiss my @ss.

[Pagey]

I just forwarded this to my office full of Leftist Socialists workers, with italics noting all of the really poignant parts of this article. Thanks alot Jonah, I needed that!

[Pagey]

I was just thinking, it would be great if G.W.B. wins a 2nd term, and then in the week following, went to Vegas and gambled say $200,000 in a 24 hour period. That would irritate that Alter fellow to no end! LOL What disturbs me though is, now Bill Bennett is saying he's "never going to gamble again,I'm through"---He's really given in to a Smarmy and Sh_tty article.Someone needs to smack Jonathan Alter around IMO.There was no need to cave in on this issue,no matter what his wife may have said to him.

[Bush2000]

Libs will take this as a means of marginalizing moral values. But the fact of the matter is that Bennett doesn't have to be a saint to understand his own wisdom. Because nobody ever said it was easy being moral.

[Gritty]

Tell me where he was wrong. Don't tell me that the messenger is a sinner — we all knew that. Tell me what's wrong with the message. What passage in The Book of Virtues was invalidated when Bennett put the first $500 chip into the machine?

I think Jonah has it right.

If this is about "hypocrisy", blame the Liberals. They slosh around in it!

[joesbucks]

Jonah did skewer Mr.B for his actions. And Mr. Bennett also acknowledged this wasn't the example he wishes to set....

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM J. BENNETT: 'A number of stories in the media have reported that I have engaged in high stakes gambling over the past decade. It is true that I have gambled large sums of money. I have also complied with all laws on reporting wins and losses. Nevertheless, I have done too much gambling, and this is not an example I wish to set. Therefore, my gambling days are over...'

[PISANO]

A Conservative who believes and espouses VIRTUE as a way of life, GAMBLES LEGALLY and within his means and NOT with OBSESSION is castigated and condemned to high heaven.

A LIBERAL is accused of rape, lies under OATH, obstructs the justice sought by a woman he attacked, is disbarred from practicing law, dodged the draft, smoked pot when it was illegal, sold nuke secrets to the CHINESE for campaign contributions and received oral sex by an EMPLOYEE of his, on government property, in the OVAL OFFICE, and HE and the provider of ORAL SEX are media darlings, with BOOK deals and the STARS of their own TV Series!

What is wrong with this picture?

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Great piece by Jonah (he's so good) - thanks.

[edsheppa]

I think Bennett could easily turn this to his advantage by "repenting" publicly. Hell, the Oprah crowd would lap it up.

[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

[angkor]

Forget abou Bennett.

WHERE DID THIS INFO COME FROM?