How important is character in a political candidate?

Question

3 candidates come before you
candidate #1
To get through college i worked part time, my parents assisted me but they were unable to give enough, i worked hard and it took longer, but i did it honest and i am proud of what i did

candidate #2
I joined the military to get through college, times were tough in the area i was born and i didnt have alot of options

candidate #3
Working a part time job for too many years is too difficult, and i didnt want to be ordered about in the military. I sold drugs for 3 hours a week to get through college, far better than toiling away to make somebody else rich

assuming their issues are not significantly different, which candidate would you vote for?

Appeals to "character" are often shady, hollow statements. Character is poorly defined. Good leadership in my opinion is a function of analytical intelligence applied with determination to a wealth of experience. That's what I am looking for.

What about the drug dealer. Because US anti-drug laws are grossly abusive and should be trampled mercilessly until they disintegrate like alcohol prohibition did. They have no ethical substance whatsoever

Answer 1

Candidates 1 and 2's stories do not necessarily denote high character so I would discard them as irrelevant. I don't have a problem with Candidate 3 voluntarily selling drugs to people who voluntarily wish to buy them. I'm a capitalist, what can I say? You could argue that Candidate 3 is at least honest about his past indiscretions.

Nevertheless, I believe character is the most important issue. A candidate can plausibly change his mind about any issue once he is in office, but he cannot change his character. Judging someone's character is a qualitative assessment which is really more of a balancing act.

Answer 2

None of them.

I want the person who has the knowledge, experience and brains to get things done. The qualities you are describing have very little to do with anything.

Here is my candidate:
candidate #4
I received the best education in the world. I made more mistakes in my life that candidates #1 thru #3 combined and learned from every single one of them. I traveled the world and learned from the best and the worst in it. I brought a garage-based startup to a multi-trillion dollar empire. I know how to form alliances to get things done, prepare for the uncertain, successfuly plan strategically, deal with adverse situations, delegate tasks to the right people, find and recognize the right talent, etc, etc, etc. Nobody can buy me as the result.

This is a hard job, I want the smartest, the most experienced and capable person there.

Answer 3

The obvious choices would be candidate 1 & 2, but this is no guarantee they are are of good character. I'd have to know a bit more about how they think/act before casting a vote. Remember, if you put lipstick on a pig, you still have a pig.

Answer 4

I proportion your view on the fee of excellent character in a candidate. character is heavily considerable whilst choosing everyone to signify us in government. somebody with good character is a few distance plenty extra probably to be inspired from the the terrific option source. i want to be represented by using somebody i will believe, no longer somebody who will say something to get elected or will robotically compromise his concepts, assuming he has any. besides to good character i seek for somebody who is familiar with the concepts of excellent government. For those reasons I help Ron Paul one hundred%, regardless of if he's a few distance in the back of in polls. If we don't take a stand for the suitable skills, we are element of the difficulty, no longer element of the answer.

Answer 5

i don't think character could really be determined by where or how someone made it through their child hood through jobs or parental assistance. They tried to assasinate Clinton's character by bringing up his pot smoking days and kill Bush's character by bringng up his cocain and draft dodging...but they both were good speakers and had strong appearance. Character should be judged by accomplishments and their resilience to affectively tackle hurdles on their way to it. Bottom line: just look at what they've done to help america before their candidancy. By this standard, Bush definetely should not have made it to presidency.

Answer 6

Very important. I would take Candidate #2. The military turns boys into men, and teaches them responsibility, which will more than likely make them Conservative.

Answer 7

#1 but i would also like #2

Answer 8

What about the drug dealer? He should be executed. And it is the dealers that should be trampled until they are ground into dust. They help kill more people and ruin more lives every year than terrorists.

Answer 9

Character is very important. It seems like in today's world, you need to be a slug to get anywhere. Not true. You should have some sort of character.

Answer 10

i would take 2 the military gives them the strenth they will need to lead. using cocaine and stealing gov mony doesnt