[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by BigFatMeanie

If people don't really care, then why do politicians strive so hard to cover it up? The crux of the matter is this question: If he had been honest about it when it was first exposed would it have been as big of a deal? I'm not sure what the answer is to that question but the fact that politicians nearly universally try to cover it up seems to me to indicate that yes, people do care.

If we conclude that people do care, the natural follow up question is should people care? I believe affairs are made relevant when the person having the affair is also publicly proclaiming their own virtue. Hypocritical politicians (redundancy alert) are notorious for claiming virtue and then being shown to be less than virtuous. I'm not saying that Edwards specifically falls into this category - I don't know enough about him to make that claim - I'm just pointing out a certain class of affair that is indeed relevant to the public. An affair also shows something about a politician's honesty. An affair by its very nature is a dishonest, secretive act. People can and should expect the utmost in integrity/honesty from their politicians. Thus, I conclude that affairs are indeed relevant to the public where politicians are concerned.

Summary:
- Do people care? Debatable but evidence indicates they do.
- Should people care? Given the nature of politicians/politics, yes.

I concur. Well stated.