Posted on 07/30/2003 11:43:13 PM PDT by kattracks
Conservative ethicist Bill Bennett emerged from a self imposed two month silence on Tuesday to announce that he wasn't going to let inaccurate stories about his gambling habits planted by "people who were trying to take me out" drive him from public life.
"I'm back and I will be more outspoken than ever," Bennett told nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity, after accepting full responsibility for the betting brouhaha.
"What I did that was wrong was that in the last few years I started to play big money, really big money. Maybe not too much in terms of what I was making, but too much in terms of who I am. And I was not being a good example."
The leading conservative spokesman revealed that his habit had become an issue at home, telling Hannity, "It got excessive. Mrs. Bennett got on me. She was right. And this story hit and it was all out there for everyone to see."
Bennett said he was faced with the choice of either changing his behavior or changing his standards. "So, in this case, the excessive gambling is over," he pledged.
He noted, however, that there was an agenda driving the gambling story that went beyond legitimate journalism, observing, "Some of these people were trying to take me out, saying, 'You're gone, man, you're out of public life.' And I don't not accept that."
He complained also that whoever leaked his gambling records to the Newsweek and the Washington Monthly had violated his privacy.
"[My gambling] wasn't a secret. But you do not expect your financial records, whether it's at a bank, a casino or anyplace, to be displayed all over the place."
The former Bush administration drug czar added, "Las Vegas has an ad out on TV and the radio, saying, 'What happens here, stays here.' Well, not in my case. That was really a rotten thing to do."
A spokesman for Caesar's Boardwalk in Atlantic City - one of the casinos named by Newsweek and the Washington Monthly - told NewsMax in May that they take every precaution to preserve the privacy of high rollers, and that the release of Bennett's records was the subject of an internal investigation.
The two publications that hyped the gambling scandal said they were relying on "40 pages of internal casino documents." But the target of the twin hit pieces said they got more than a few factual details wrong.
"A lot of what they put out was inaccurate - about losing $8 million and all that. There's no way that happened."
Bennett said the sources of the illicitly obtained records "released information to reporters that was wrong about totals, about wins and losses. It was really an attempt to do me in."
He stressed that he wasn't swearing off all wagering, telling Hannity, "Since there will be people doing the micrometer on me, I just want to be clear. I do want to be able to bet the [Buffalo] Bills in the Super Bowl."
When Hannity closed the interview by praising Bennett for taking responsibility for the imbroglio, the ethicist quipped, "You can bet on it."
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I wouldn't be focused so much on high rolling as fame and wealth in general. You don't have to gamble to get treated like royalty in restaurants, resorts, etc.
Is Bennett vain? He may be. Most of us are, in some way. ALL of us sin. So because he is a human sinner, like us all, he cannot speak to morality? My friend, you will have a hard time finding someone pure enough to encourage good values.
The difference between vain and nice is in the bearers heart.
We can't see into Bill Bennett's heart, so we can't know if he was showing off his wealth. I assumed he was, but that's only an assumption based on the amount of money and my generalizations about high rolling. There is also a difference between leaving large tips and high rolling (like the ones I described above).
In the end although we can't see into Bennett's heart, we can say he tested his virtue, and perhaps tempted fate by dropping such large amounts of cash it would be hard not to show off.
Perhaps (and unfortunately) not. But "allegations" of other types of activity in which some people participate in Nevada just might. This shifty-eyed fraud is going down in a big way.
Why does this bring up visions from the Veggie Tales' "Jonah" movie? Thousands of vegetables in the belly of the whale dressed in white robes singing in true Gospel fashion: "Our God . . . our God . . . is a God of Second Chances . . . " My all time favorite!
I relayed a story from someone else. So no, I did not call him a fraud. However, the gist of it was that he was full of crap all the time and was just in general not what he claimed to be.
I was relaying that someone I know who has known him a long time thinks he's a fraud. That he is not what he claims to be. That he has gambled away 8 million bucks leads me to beleive that my friend was correct.
I think you are making too many assumptions here.
I gamble, small amounts of money, because I find it entertaining. It's fun. Maybe I'll win, but I will probably lose. That's ok. The way I see it, I can spend $100 going out with my husband to dinner and a movie OR we can go to a casino and spend $100. I've spent the money either way, and I have been entertained in either circumstance. But if I've been at a casino, it's possible that my evening entertainment could be free, or that the casino will pay me (!!) for my entertainment.
Isn't it possible that Bennett just enjoys the game? I do. Heck, I play online for free! LOL!
LOL! I agree with you! My husband, unfortunately, would say that I'd lost $10,000 and he would be mad.
If Bennett SPENT 8 million dollars over 10 years seeing Broadway plays, buying expensive wines and taking fancy trips to Europe would anyone care? But because the money was SPENT in a casino and that's called gambling people are upset and worry about his virtue.
You seem to be assuming that all wealthy people are rude, that "high rollers" in general are a nasty bunch of people. Doesn't wealth allow people to pay for services that are beyond the reach of others? And isn't the payment of services part of our capitalism?
I don't know how you can generalize in such a way. Again, it makes me think that you are fixated on his wealth, and assume that because he is wealthy, he is of low character.
Isn't it a sin to covet what another person has earned?
It's not a virtue.
Not just possible, it's very likely. But it's also possible he enjoys the high roller rush even more (or less).
You're right, I was generalizing. But not about rudeness or nastiness. Merely that the extremely ego-boosting activities and personal relationships of the high roller can easily lead to Vanity.
As for the capitalism, absolutely. Bennett can hire whoever he wants to do whatever he wants. However some of those things might not be virtuous even if they are perfectly legal.
Isn't it a sin to covet what another person has earned?
Yes it is and no, I'm not. I'm merely pointing out the possibility that there's more serious possibilities than gambling involved. Please stop attacking me, I have no defense except that I've tasted a tiny bit of high rolling (company awarded) and now older and wiser I'm happy without it.
It has a lot to do with your relationship with the other people, it's not strictly "capitalism" as division of labor, it's complete attention and service. While there is nothing wrong with the wealthy spending all they want on personal attention, it can lead to vanity, particularly in the case where there is no obvious aesthetic value to the activity.
We are not talking about spending 1000's on a dinner or to watch a special performance, those have aesthetic value. What high rolling is is spending 10's or 100's of thousands on nothing except the entertainment of gambling plus lots of personal service since the casinos want you to lose the money at their place.
And I'm trying to point out that this kind of behavior can easily lead to Vanity which is the worst of the seven sins because it generally leads to the others.
But, that is kind of a false impression. If you have the money/credit line to join in the more expensive betting, then basically, you are paying for it.
So many of the services at the casino are "comped" (I think that is how you spell it) because the casino would rather you spent your money at the tables or slots, than on the drinks, food, etc. They don't want you to leave the tables, because you don't have the cash for another drink.
You are paying for it, because the casino wins. Isn't that the impression of the person who is spending such large amounts of money at the casino? Some days they win, some days they lose. Mostly they lose. The casino is the winner in the end.
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