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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Well, if it hurts your head too much to know that the guy isn't a candidate for sainthood, maybe you just oughta throw it away.
Actually, comparing Bennet to Swaggart is overkill.
Bennet is not in the ministry, and should not be held to the same moral standards as a minister.
Ministers are falling out of the ministry like fleas off a dog's back in recent years - it's just too hard to hold high moral standards in a society full of rotting moral decay.
Homosexuality, adultery, fornication, graft, libel, lying, gambling, pornography, and many more sins common to man have become all but normal (and acceptable) behavior in our society.
To speak out against them is not just unpopular, it can get not just get your image, reputation, and career ruined but it can literllay get you killed in some places.
Face it, this nation is in a tail spin straight to hell.
High rolling is confluence of a large number of deadly sins. The most obvious sin is Vanity. There is probably some Envy of the other high rollers. Gluttony is a given and Lust for having one's a$$ kissed. Greed is a side effect to sustain the habit and there is probably some Sloth in being waiting on 24x7.
With that many sins, it's hard to claim any virtue.
Amen, brother! What drives me nuts about this whole phony controversy is that two supposed "news" reporters spent a considerable amount of time trying to nail Bennett, and this is the best they could do. Does anybody seriously think they were only checking to see if Bennett lost too much dough playing video poker, or were they asking if he got a room, and had (ahem) company?
While "Rev." Jesse Jackson was advising Clinton about how to handle the revelation of BJs in the Oval Office, he brought his mistress to the WH while she was carrying his bastard daughter! But no, Bennett's the real hypocrite because he plays too much slots! Did either of those reporters give a rat's about problem gambling before they found out they could point a finger at Bennett?
Don't get me wrong -- I have been among the first in the pool when it came to bashing Trent Lott and Michael Savage for their diarrhea-of-the-mouth episodes, but that is because they said things that were undeniably reprehensible. I would have taken Bennett to task IF he had been preaching against the dangers of gambling, but he never has, and no one, to my knowledge, has ever faulted him for not doing so. He's NOT a "hypocrite." People have been projecting their own values and opinions onto him when they had no right to.
I'm far more concerned that my personal financial records might be made public. Not that I have anything to hide -- it is just a matter of privacy.
No I didn't think he was perfect before. And I wouldn't say that my image of him is "shattered" I still think he's and OK guy.
Which part of the book is invalidated because of what we now know?
Nothing particular. I just don't like or value stupid people. Blowing 8 million bucks is stupid, and knowing that about him makes me think less of him and his opinions in general. The book of virtues is great, but it's not just a collection of stories. It's a collection of storeis put together by Bill Bennett.
I assume you and many others on this forum are well acquainted with virtue. Unfortunately you and many others do not seem to know much about vice, particularly high rolling. I could suggest putting up a $250,000 line of credit and sending the limo over at 2:00. Barring that, try this thought experiment: you are the center of the universe, everyone waits on you hand and foot, makes sure you feel the best you can possibly feel at all times.
It's obvious Bennett has discovered nothing since Humility is the only antidote to his overdose of Vanity.
I don't think he has suffered any extreme moral lapse either. However, I judge people by all sorts of things... their language, their habits, behviors, etc. The simple fact is that knowing that this person pissed away 8 million dollars on something affects my judgement of his judgement.
I'm sure I will continue to agree with Bennett in most areas of his moral crusade.
But his admission of failure does not appear at this stage to include repentance--turning away entirely from the activity that tempts you.
He seems to think that it was only the excess of gambling that was his problem and that if he just lightens up on it, all will be well. IMO, that's like an alcoholic deciding to only have 2 drinks a day or a liar deciding to lie only 2 times a day.
The Bible says that if your right arm causes you to sin, cut it off or if one of your eyes causes you to sin, pluck it out. Bennett's deceiving himself to think that he can continue to gamble at a lesser rate and all will be well. I think he is deceiving himself.
Just as I wouldn't give money to a friend I knew was using it to gamble or buy alcohol, I don't feel inclined to purchase Bennett's books with the knowledge that he will be using some of the royalties to gamble.
No way. He's addicted to gambling. 8 million dollars. If he was just addicted to getting his but kissed, he could do that on a lot less than 8 million bucks.
He didn't say he didn't lose money, he said Over 10 years, Id say Ive come out pretty close to even.
He also said: "A lot of what they put out was inaccurate - about losing $8 million and all that. There's no way that happened."
You can call it a lie if you want. First Amendment, yada yada yada. You can call it hypocrisy, too. Everyone seems to want to redefine words to fit their agenda nowadays.
...It's obvious Bennett has discovered nothing since Humility is the only antidote to his overdose of Vanity.
Whewwwww....
Well, now that Bennett has failed to meet your high standards, may you ought to write a book, and fill the vacuum left by his former fans.
I have the perfect title: Sitting Atop My Horse, You All Look Like Ants.
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