Quote:
Originally posted by Bill O'Rights
Well, from what I've seen over the years, the public at large loves to see things laid to waste. For probably the same reason that people find it necesary to ogle an accident, we seem to love to tear into our leaders, and lay them open, exposed and vulnerable to each and every little flaw. I have every confidence that there are/were some very excellent statesmen and leaders that never surfaced because they either couldn't stand up to, or didn't want to be exposed to, the public scrutiny.
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I really think Bill's on the right track here. We no longer give our candidates any slack. People make an occational bad decision and goof up every now and agian, but we don't seem to want to accept this. We look back at leaders of the past and say "Where is our Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln?" They may very well be right in front of our eyes. Washington was a great man, but he used to bribe dock workers with rum in order to get their votes. Jefferson had numerous mistresses and at least one child out of wedlock and many believe that Lincoln suffered from bouts of extreme depression. Hell, most people did not know FDR was in a wheelchair!
It is good to know a great deal about our candidates, but it is sort of like a card trick - Once you know how the trick is done, it doesn't seem so great.