If we lambaste any politician who can't live up to the standards they set . . . ?

Question

are we then encouraging politicians to set the bar as LOW as possible when it comes to personal conduct?

No, we don't want hypocrites around, running things and telling people what to do.

But humans have failings. And some ideas are worth fighting for, even though their proponents are imperfect. Bill Clinton, for example, had a history of sexually harassing women, but does that make the feminist ideals he espoused not worth fighting for?

I'm confused here. What do we want from our elected leaders? (Not breaking laws would be a start!)

RU - Actually, lambast and lambaste are both apparently correct. And as for Clinton, I am certainly no fan of his. What I meant by my example is that both sides are guilty - some here just point out Republicans.

Also - I do NOT excuse Clinton's conduct; I merely say that his conduct does not negate the underlying stance on the issue at hand.

It's two different questions. Is Clinton a sleaze? Yes! Should women not have equal rights just because one of the proponents of feminism is a hypocrite? No, that doesn't follow.

Same thing for, say, Larry Craig and his problems. He is probably a pervert and a hypocrite, but does that in and of itself make all his political stances wrong? Not at all.

People are fallible.

Answer 1

I can't speak for everyone of course, but what I want from my elected leaders is this:

1. Follow the laws
2. Listen and respond to the will and needs of your constituents
3. Conduct yourself with decency.
4. Play nice.
5. If you are married, be faithful.
6. Be honest.
6. Don't cheat in business or otherwise.
7. Don't take bribes.
8. Don't waste time.
9. Don't go on unnecessary junkets.
10. Focus on the business of our nation.
11. Work with the opposition, treat them with respect and be willing to compromise for the sake of getting things done.
12. Do your job.
13. Respect your constituents and realize you work for us

Answer 2

Bill Clinton had more than just a history of sexually harrassing women. I looseley remember the savings and loans scandal where there were rumors of a murder (McDugal).... and a friend and partner of the Clintons during this venture ended up in prison (Susan McDugal).

The media didn't think it should provide as much details as it does when reporting on a much more powerful leader.... Lindsay Lohan, and thus not much has been mentioned or talked about in recent times.

Answer 3

I would just like some CONSISTENCY out of our politicians, and other organizations.
You bring up the example of Bill Clinton and women. Well, when Clarence Thomas was being appointed to the US Supreme Court, and then Anita Hill came forward, feminists said women don't lie about being sexually harassed. Then, when Paula Jones came forward about BJ Clinton, where were the feminists?? **Crickets**.
There is PLENTY of hypocrisy on BOTH sides of the aisles.
What I want from my elected officials is to A. Protect our Country from enemies, both foreign and domestic, and to B. leave me alone!!!!

Answer 4

"Lambast" is a great word!

We have the right, not only to set the bar high for those who claim to know what the right things are for us, but to hold them to it. If, therefore, politicians lower the bar, we should not even consider them. Let's not make excuses for Bill's poor conduct. He wouldn't want Chelsea working for a boss like he was. I'm sure you wouldn't be making the same excuses for our President, as you demonstrate by the jab you threw in your "Clinton excuse" at the end. No laws have been broken by our current President, but, sadly, we cannot say the same about the man whose sexual misconduct you are excusing.

Answer 5

Very very good question:

I want two things from my leadership.
Intellect and a sense of duty.

UNFORTUNATELY....we are the boss we all complain about.
Our expectations are unreasonable and we're never happy.

The criteria for election up til now:

Male
White
Full head of glorious hair
Heterosexual
War hero but never killed anyone
Graduate of several prestigious universities.
Never has missed a parade anywhere.
In favor of women's right to chose and against abortion
Protestant but, not moromon.
Good looking but not TOO good looking.
Married (to a woman) with kids who have never and will never make a mistake.
In perfect health
Tea drinker
Non-smoker
Never takes a vacation
Perfect diction, no accent
Knows the name of every prime minister of every country you never heard of.
Full financial disclosure including those three months on the paper route.
Knows the name of every single company his investment fund is in and every company each of them ever did business with
Eagle scout
Can show up at every single disaster
Can raise spending without raising taxes.
Has read every book ever written.
No recreational drug use of any kind.
Never saw the inside of a police station
Never got a ticket
Over six foot tall
Conversant in every discipline from science to the arts.
A good speller
Never tripped on a staircase
An expert marksman but in favor of gun control.
A world class athlete
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound

Who the hell is going to do this job at these prices?

Answer 6

It's better to strive for perfection and fail, than to strive for failure and succeed. Let them try to live up to some kind of a standard, and we'll decide whether to lambaste on a case-by-case basis if they don't. After all, some things aren't as big a deal as others.

Answer 7

Well,let's see.the entire Republican Party needs to stop it's moralizing attempts to dictate to the rest of the country indeed to the world.

Hands down,this is the biggest bunch of hypocrites the world has seen...