Dr. Maccoby participates in a Weekly Forum on Washington Post.com called "On Leadership". I am compiling all of his responses to the weekly questions here.
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DATE: June 29, 2009 A Higher Standard? The Sanford scandal is the latest reminder that Americans are quick to disqualify from top leadership positions people who haven't lived by the highest moral standards. In this insistence of sexual probity, are we denying ourselves the benefit of too many otherwise talented leaders in politics, business and religion? Or is marital fidelity a good predictor of overall character and leadership talent? |
Adultery Is Private, Politics Are Not
Unlike the French who seem to think it's not worth getting excited about infidelity, we Americans have historically had a somewhat Puritanical attitude toward adultery. However, we have sometimes ignored it in those leaders we value highly, like JFK and Martin Luther King.
When Grover Cleveland ran against James Blaine in 1884, his illegitimate child caused a scandal, but he still won the presidency. The voters considered Cleveland's sexual escapade less damaging than Blaine's crooked financial dealings.
I think that the public dislikes infidelity in its leaders but is willing to ignore it if the leader is seen as truly working for the common good. But if like Sanford and Ensign, politicians who have run on family values and denounced others for their sexual missteps, prove hypocritical, voters will inevitably doubt their honesty and authenticity. Hypocrisy, especially the holier-than-thou variety, is a stronger reason to distrust a politician than adultery, which I believe is a private affair.
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