daveman
Diamond Member
Doris Kearns-Goodwin: Excusing Affairs Only Way to Get 'Best People in Public Life,' Like FDR and Clinton
Wow. Just -- wow.
Appearing on Sunday's NBC Meet the Press, liberal historian Doris Kearns-Goodwin pleaded for the American people to excuse extramarital affairs of public figures like David Petraeus: "What would we have done if FDR had not been our leader because he had an affair with Lucy Mercer? Think of the productive years that Clinton could have had if Monica Lewinsky hadn't derailed them. We've got to figure out a way that we give a private sphere for our public leaders. We're not gonna get the best people in public life if we don't do that."
Kearns-Goodwin lamented how public officials today are held to moral standards: "I wish we could go back to the time when the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they directly affected their public responsibilities....This man was a great general, a great leader, and for his career to come to an end because of a private matter that affects his family and him and evidently doesn't have national security concerns."
The Washington Post's Bob Woodward completely dismantled her argument: "Unfortunately, for the CIA Director, he has special status and he's got to be clean. He can't be blackmailed or threatened or even deal with the anxiety, 'My God, are they gonna find out about her?' And he did the right thing."
Kearns-Goodwin lamented how public officials today are held to moral standards: "I wish we could go back to the time when the private lives of our public figures were relevant only if they directly affected their public responsibilities....This man was a great general, a great leader, and for his career to come to an end because of a private matter that affects his family and him and evidently doesn't have national security concerns."
The Washington Post's Bob Woodward completely dismantled her argument: "Unfortunately, for the CIA Director, he has special status and he's got to be clean. He can't be blackmailed or threatened or even deal with the anxiety, 'My God, are they gonna find out about her?' And he did the right thing."
Wow. Just -- wow.
