Letter to the Editor
Family values
Published Friday, September 5, 2008
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To the editor:
Let us examine the evidence for “Family Values” as shown by presidential candidates’ personal actions and how their families demonstrate the morals learned at home.
Capt. John McCain was 42, married to his first wife, Carol Shepp, (who had single-handedly raised their three children and active in the prisoner of war cause while her husband was a POW) and he admits having had extramarital affairs when he met and courted the then 24-year-old beautiful beer heiress Cindy Hensley. Three months after John had obtained a divorce from Carol, they married in May 1980. They made a prenuptial agreement with the family assets remaining in Cindy’s name.
Cindy McCain later had an addiction to painkillers, eventually checking herself into a clinic only after getting caught stealing drugs from a charity and sacking the whistleblower who revealed her.
Sarah Palin has an unmarried teenage daughter who is pregnant.
I remember comparing the families of George W. Bush (two daughters known for underage drinking) and of John Kerry (who also had two daughters, both responsible people). While we don’t know how a Kerry presidency would have turned out, we do know how the Bush presidency turned out.
For the party that says they put such value on “Family Values” they sure don’t walk the walk even though they loudly talk the talk. For those that spend so much effort telling the rest of us how to live our lives, the sin of hypocrisy is particularly obnoxious. I’ve lost track of how many Republican senators and congressmen have had their hypocrisy exposed by scandal. Do you want to vote for those that are demonstrably hypocrites? Do you wish to reward hypocrisy? If so, you know who to vote for.
Community Discussion
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You know, that McCain story has always been one of my favorites! And that story has been around a long, long time, too ! But, to be honest about it, after Carol's car crash the doctors didn't think she would make it. Beside's Carol was an model and believe me when I say that being thrown out of your car by way of the windshield doesn't help to get modeling jobs! And although it's really very sad (for the ex-Mrs. McCain) it sure tells me something about compassionate conservatism.
So you would rather have a president who is FOR the killing of infants? Too bad public schools don't teach abstinence. OH WAIT, they can't because liberals and democrats don't think that's a good idea. hmmmmmmmm.
... let's not forget, in every circumstance that you cite, the honorable and compassionate decision was decided upon. No one has said that by being a conservative means that you're life isn't full of contradiction and turmoil.
It is how you persevere, it is how you withstand the struggle, it is how you show your true intregrity and show compassion in all matters that truely defines the morals and ethics you represent and promote that defines you.
No one can deny the misdeeds that have taken place. Yet, no one can deny the ultimate result of each instance you drag upon this campaign. Each instance, integrity and compassion has resulted from sorrow. You just don't understand.
Say "Hi" to Nilo, for me, won't you?
Some people have mothers who got pregnant at 18 and not married at conception.
Some people made the error of judgement to try cocaine in college.
Some people have affairs in their office.
Some have had addiction to back pain medication.
Is far as I can tell, I can only come up with one perfect person.
Any divorce is going to have two sides, it sounds like back in 1980, you know 28 years ago, the man did the best that he could with a bad situation. Personally I will look to how a person acts not in a time of comfort but in a time of turmoil to find the true character of their person. If you want to talk about McCain's past bring up being a POW with two broken arms and still finding it important to help the moral of the guy in the cell next to you.
BTW- my dislike for the reasoning in this letter is not an indication of where my vote will go. I still feel like I am having to choose between the best of two evils and that sucks.
Coldmkay - I wonder where the $1.5 BILLION in Government abstinence only sex education funds has gone then....hmmm.
Only the 'accused' knows if they have asked the Lord for forgiveness for their sins. We ALL fall short ... so how can you or anyone throw the first stone. If there is ONE perfect person out there capable of running for President I havent seen them step up yet. Are you who accuse going to do so yourself? I doubt it.
So quit bashing people behind their backs..or even to their faces until you can come clean on your whole life from the past and now and the future. I am sure you are not very squeaky either in some areas.
And I would like to say to those who feel that everyone has to know their dark sides of their pasts .... how would you feel if your employer demanded they know 'everything' you have done since you were born? how would you feel then?
as for Palins Daughter? she is human like the rest of us including you. she is of age and there is nothing in the rule books that tells us our kids are going to make us totally proud of being totally good all the time... our kids do things we would rather they not do, but we cannot prevent everything they do. That doesnt affect Palins ability to lead just because her daughter became pregnant out of wedlock.
No more than your child getting pregnant or making someone pregnant mean you cannot hold your job anymore.
For all I know McCain and Palins pasts may be covered in mercy because they may have asked God to forgive them and they have turned around to live uprightly after those moments...you people who cast judgement on these folks have no clue if those folks have grieved and mourned their wrongs and repented of them. Thats between them and God and its not for you or anyone else to make judgement on them. And if I were you I'd be very careful saying what you do about them because what you measure out against them may be measured back against you by Gods own hand. I wouldnt want to be in that spot if I were you. So be veryyyyyyyy careful with your thoughts and mouth. God is Very much Alive and Well and anything you say or even THINK in your heart can and will be held against you by God Almighty Himself ... Trust me..this is true.
Again... People need to learn to pull the plank out of their own eye before trying to pull the splinter from someone else's.
The treatment of McCain's Ex-Wife, by John himself was horrible. Ross Perot and HIS family took her in, and paid for all her bills. He disgusts me for this alone.
Really is this what our country has come to.... Most people learn from their mistakes, and everyone makes bad choices. Ones true self is exposed by the way they over come their mistakes, addictions, and hardships. Did McCain make the right choices? Probably not but if we let everyone define us by the mistakes we made in the past, then we all would look pretty bad! Both parties have good and bad points. Base your vote on who you think is going to best represent you! Not who slept with who and what they did 20 years ago! Quit all this stupid childish non-sense it only maks YOU look bad!
Geez, you cannot talk the talk but not walk the walk. The Republicans advance a platform that states that family, life and marriage are sacred. (Don't get me started on the life aspect of the hypocrisy). McCain had sacrificed his marriage before his wife died. He is on the national stage. It is fair game to question his moral character when his platform has led the charge of the sanctity of marriage.
( I almost feel that the responses to this are going to fall into the Chewbacca defense. Ummm...errr....He was a POW! How dare you question is moral fiber or patriotism? I am not questioning his patriotism, but as a prospective commander in chief we are allowed to question whether or not he can make the right choice on partial information or little information. "His wife might die" is not "his wife will die". )
Let us put the shoe on the Democrats foot for a moment. If Obama had left his wife for a younger woman with significant wealth, you can bet that talk radio would be all over it. When Clinton had an affair with a younger woman, it was not forgiven, and people did not say he would learned from his mistake. He was impeached for a personal matter.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot, it does not feel as comfortable. Interesting. As far as I am concerned, both McCain and Palin have shown that they value their personal advancement against the appropriate course of action. I am going to stay on topic and not answer those who ask for reasoning beyond this. If you would like those reasons, contact me off list.
You nailed it, outspoken.
Everybody has a skeleton in their closet.
I agree with not defining people by the mistakes they have made.
Define them by not making those same mistakes again.
Perhaps Carol McCain or Bristol Palin don't really weigh on most people's minds when it comes to deciding who to vote for. However, these are not irrelevant circumstances. This is an opportunity for the Republicans to eliminate a criticism from the Democrats by acknowledging that gay people aren't responsible for the decline of marriage, nor does abstinence-only sex ed decrease the teen pregnancy rate. The Republicans will likely squander this opportunity, however, since remaining in power is more important than acknowledging an error in judgement.
draconianslacker said : "The treatment of McCain's Ex-Wife, by John himself was horrible. Ross Perot and HIS family took her in, and paid for all her bills. He disgusts me for this alone."
Wow, I hope that after you get a divorce or seperation you continue to pay your exes' bills. If so, I'd marry you and divorce you in the same month!
BTW, Clinton was not impeached for a personal matter. He was impeached for lying under oath.
Non_Lemming great post.
So what you seem to be saying is that as a parent I should be resposible for every bad decision that my child makes? The child in question is not a child and is more than capable of making her own choices. The fact that her family is standing by her is showing love, understanding and helping her to over come. People using this info make themselves look bad. Why are they not comdeming Hilary for her husbands dirty deed in the White House, and the Public lie? These people are still willing to vote them in! If you are to preach about Family Values, Clinton should be the first one you should address! Not McCains drama 20 yrs. ago!
I don't believe that Cindy McCain's addition to pain killers has anything to do with "family values".
To "outspoken": "Clinton should be the first one you should address!" Are you kidding me!?! Last time I checked, Bill and Hillary weren't running for president. That would be Obama and McCain.
And to "coldmkay": "So you would rather have a president who is FOR the killing of infants? Too bad public schools don't teach abstinence. OH WAIT, they can't because liberals and democrats don't think that's a good idea. hmmmmmmmm." Where do you get your information? Bush supports and provides financial support to "abstinence only" programs, and McCain/Palin are on the same bandwagon. And please don't make general statements about democrats not thinking that teaching our children abstinence is a good idea. Comprehensive sex education is more realistic, and better prepares teens who choose to have sex. As for your RIDICULOUS comment about a "president who is FOR the killing of infants," get over yourself. Pro-choice doesn't equal "killing of infants". Pro-choice also does not equal pro-abortion, which is what I think you meant.
"lagirl": "BTW, Clinton was not impeached for a personal matter. He was impeached for lying under oath."
Clinton was not impeached.
Fact: Clinton was impeached in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice.
LeSenora~
yes he was. You should read what impeaching is. Just because he wasn't thrown out of office doesn't mean he wasn't impeached!
It occurs to me that maybe you are confused since he was acquited by the Senate following impeachment (accusation) by the House.
I am correct about the impeachment, but that doesn't matter. The public turned a blind eye to the matter because it was a personal issue that should have been between him and his wife. Just because he couldn't keep his hormones under control had no bearing on his running the country. Although the public had a huge problem with him lying under oath about the episode. The same applies with Palin and McCain for that matter, they should be considered for the job at hand. I am not real sure what her daughter being pregnant has to do with her ability make decisions about government. Also, McCain not being an outstanding ex-husband, what does that have to do with the job?
You know if Palin was fighting for the rights of an unborn child and then allowed her own child to have an abortion----then we could talk about hypocrisy.
For receiving sexual gratification while in office. (Ever look at Hillary, and you blame the guy...But then, Monica?) Let us put in context, shall we. A personal matter used to force a sitting president into a nasty situation. Now, if Palin or McCain has similar skeletons or actions in their past, do you want them out now or later?
lagirl,
But the problem is that it did not stop the behavior. I still have have ethical issues with what happened during the Keating 5 Savings and Loans bail out, to which McCain used his influence on bankers and regulators. It is about past behaviors that McCain has shown. What these two episodes illustrate is that he does not choose the ethical choice, he chooses that which is advantageous to himself.
For a person trying to make the case to the American people that he is the person for the job of the President, do we want to make that choice?
Am I holding McCain up to a very high standard ? Absolutely.
Am I holding Obama up to the same standard ? Absolutely.
If they did not want to be held up to a high level of scrutiny including their past actions and associations (Rev Wright anyone?), they should not have run for President.
I don't know much about the Keating 5 deal, but what I read it seems that McCain got caught up in something he didn't want to be a part in. He choose to do the ethical thing and severe all ties with Keating. You could elaborate more if I have this wrong. I don't think that anyone is saying they shouldn't be scrutinized, but personal affairs such as divorce, baby out of wedlock, whether he leaves the toilet seat up after peeing, whether she brushes her teeth or not, ect... all irrelevant points. The question is do they have the integrity and will to stand up for what they say they will? That is the real question.
lagirl,
from wikipedia:
'McCain and Keating had become personal friends following their initial contacts in 1981.[8] Between 1982 and 1987, McCain had received $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates.[14] In addition, McCain's wife Cindy McCain and her father Jim Hensley had invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a year before McCain met with the regulators. McCain, his family, and their baby-sitter had made nine trips at Keating's expense, sometimes aboard Keating's jet. Three of the trips were made during vacations to Keating's opulent Bahamas retreat at Cat Cay. McCain did not pay Keating (in the amount of $13,433) for some of the trips until years after they were taken, when he learned that Keating was in trouble over Lincoln.[6][15]'
And:
'McCain was criticized by the Committee for exercising "poor judgment" when he met with the federal regulators on Keating's behalf.'
And
'Lincoln Savings and Loan
The Lincoln Savings led to the Keating Five political scandal, in which five U.S. senators were implicated in an influence-peddling scheme. It was named for Charles Keating, who headed Lincoln saving and made $300,000 as political contributions to them in the 1980s. Three of those senators - Alan Cranston, Don Riegle, and Dennis DeConcini - found their political careers cut short as a result. Two others - John Glenn and John McCain - were rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising "poor judgment" for intervening with the federal regulators on behalf of Keating.[10]'
Take from that what you will. Remember that we (the taxpayer) bailed the Savings and Loans out and are still paying for the improper ethics of these 5 senators. I am only focusing on McCain because he is the one running for president.
To say that divorce and birth out of wed lock should not be scrutinized is absolutely wrong when you take into account the following things:
McCain and Palin are running on the party ticket that promotes "Family Values"
Again from Wikipedia:
'Republican Party