Candidates' personal lives become public domain
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By Julia Prodis Sulek
San Jose Mercury News
Posted on Thu, Mar. 22, 2007
(MCT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. - When presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife stood before TV cameras Thursday to share some of their most personal family business, the couple looked the image of solidarity, courage and commitment.
Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had returned. It was incurable, but treatable. Edwards put his arm around his wife and pulled her close. The personally painful moment was laid out for the world to see.
In this era of candidates-as-open-books, they had no choice. More than ever, the personal lives of the candidates running for president - for better or worse - have been brought to the forefront. And, voters, more than ever, demand such transparency.
"Some of this has to do with the new reality of politics. Whatever happens, it is now best for a candidate to tell it all, tell it early and tell it himself," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior scholar at the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning and Development. "It's far better for Edwards and his wife to tell the story in the way they want to tell it than to have the blogs kind of speculating how ill she is."
Supporters of the North Carolina Democrat say the couple's openness, about the reoccurrence of her cancer, which started as breast cancer in 2004, reveals a noble character.
"Obviously I wish that exposure came under different circumstances," said Deborah Rappaport, who held a fundraiser for Edwards last month at her Woodside home. "In the lemonades out of lemons vein, this really is a chance for a much larger number of people to see who these people are and who they are when the chips are down," she said.
But the revelation was also a risk. Would voters think that his wife's illness would distract Edwards from the daunting business of the presidency? Would they worry his wife would not be able to fulfill her role as first lady? By remaining in the race, would the former U.S. senator look like he was putting his political ambitions before his wife's health?
During Thursday's news conference, when asked if he could campaign amid concerns about his wife's health, Edwards said, "If I'm not able to deal with this kind of pressure, I'm not ready to be president." But he added, "Anytime, anyplace I need to be with Elizabeth, I will be there."
Deborah Rhode, director of Stanford Center on Ethics said that candidates should be open about personal factors that might be relevant to their job performance. "Regardless of what you think about Edward's ultimate decision in this case, you have to respect his willingness to be honest."
Just what is considered relevant to job performance is open to interpretation, and a subject of constant debate.
Numerous unflattering personal stories are circulating among several of the other presidential candidates - stories some would like kept out of the public forum: Hillary Clinton's rocky marriage with Bill Clinton, who had an affair with a White House intern; John McCain's 1980 divorce and second marriage one month later; Rudy Giuliani's three marriages and estrangement from his son; even Barack Obama's autobiography revealing his college-age marijuana use.
McCain, a Republican presidential hopeful, has called upon the media to keep the candidates' personal lives private. Republican Newt Gingrich, who is considering a presidential run, recently revealed he was having an extramarital affair while pursuing the impeachment of President Clinton. He echoed McCain's sentiments for privacy.
But as far as Larry Gerston of San Jose State University is concerned, it's an unrealistic expectation.
"We just no longer value any privacy. It's just not considered sacred as it once was," said Gerston, a political science professor. "It just further underscores what has been a trend in American politics for 40 years - that the line between private and public has become so blurred that it's hard to know where one ends and the other begins."
In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy was able to keep private his severe bad injuries and reliance on pain medication, as well as his extramarital affairs.
But as the decades went on, the public's appetite for personal information as well as its acceptance of personal problems grew. Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 - the first divorced man elected president. Former First Lady Betty Ford acknowledged alcoholism and became a symbol of strength for overcoming it. Vice President Al Gore's wife, Tipper in 1999 revealed she struggled with depression and was treated for it.
President Carter had lust in his heart, and current President Bush said he has given up drinking.
"The presidency is the most special office and people expect the candidates to be open books," said Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "If they're not they will be penalized. The press will cover their lives anyway. Character is vital and people need to see that transparency."
Former state Sen. Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, agrees.
"I think voters are not lowering the bar but are realizing their expectation should not be much greater than their own selves and sometimes a president is no longer a god- or a goddess-like figure," Torres said, "Rather, someone like me, someone with personal foibles, weaknesses and personal strengths."
In the case of the Edwards, his wife's health is something he has no control over. "It's simply an illness and it may add a human dimension for a candidate, but we're going to vote on the big issues of the presidency, not on health," Sabato said. "What does that have to do with the price of bread or the key to the White House?" |
