There are reasons beyond morality that make this more than a personal matter

[dansolo]

I do agree that in the matter of adultery, the issue can be viewed as a personal matter. But I do not agree that it is exclusively a personal matter when the person involved is a public official. Here are threee reason why it is a matter of public interest:

1. HONESTY - A wedding vow is supposedly a promise to their spouse and to God. If someone is willing to break that vow, then it suggests that they may be willing to disregard other promises as well.

2. HYPOCRISY - If a political behaves in their personal lives differently than their publicly stated positions, then I think that the public should know and take that into consideration.

3. BLACKMAIL - Any actions that could lead to an official being blackmailed taints their ability to be objective, because they can be swayed by the threat.

[marylanddem]

1. And, most importantly, he could have won the nomination!

He wanted it, he fought for it, he got a lot of votes. And of course Reille would have shown up with that baby...

[jobycom]

2. You just live in a different universe than me. I hope yours is the right one.

From my experience, everyone lies, everyone cheats, everyone steals. Not always, not about everything, but everyone makes mistakes. I cringe when I read about how trustworthy a candidate is, how they can never do wrong. I cringe when I hear people gush about how honest a candidate is, how they would never lie or cheat or whatever. From my life experiences, I just don't expect anyone to live up to such expectations. That's not to say all people are bad, just that almost all do bad things sometimes. Life is long, and if we judge a lifetime by the actions of an hour or two out of that lifetime, we make a mistake, in my experience.

I never trusted Edwards, but it had nothing to do with his private life. I didn't need an affair to tell me he was like that. That's exactly how I've always seen him. But I've known very good people stuck in very bad circumstances who had relations outside their marriage. I've known honorable people in marriages that just didn't work, where both had an agreement to stay together but find their comfort elsewhere (No, not talking about me, so don't go there). For them to have an extramarital relationship isn't proof of dishonesty or hypocrisy. Sometimes it's the opposite. It's proof of responsibility, in that they won't leave their children just because they don't get along personally. I'm not saying Edwards is like that, I just don't know. I would argue the Clintons may have been like that, but that's just a guess, too (although based on knowledge gained from more than just MSM sources).

Since I can't know what a person is like in their deepest soul, I don't judge them on personal matters. All I care about is whether they can do the job, and whether they have a history of integrity in public service. I judge the actions I can know about, not those I cannot. If a public official lies to start a war, I know they are not fit to run a nation. If a public official has a history of fighting for issues I believe in, I begin to trust them on those issues. I value public integrity because I can't know their personal integrity.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I grew up in a strange world where every odd family and person in the universe settled down near me, or were related to me, and maybe the world really is more like I see in sitcoms and sermons. I like your world better, where people are good or bad, and good people never do bad things, and there are honest people who say what they mean rather than saying what polls indicate they should say. But I can't even imagine that world, so I don't vote as though it exists.

I do trust people mostly, and I'm not as cynical as all that sounds, and I do know that some people are more honest and trustworthy and decent than others. In fact, I place a great deal of my own self-value on my personal conduct, maybe because I've experienced the opposite so often. But I don't hold people to absolute standards on personal matters when those matters don't affect my life. I judge them on what I can know.