Word: characterized
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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The issue of character, although not always explicit, has hung gloomily over this election since the last days of the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. At that time, some held that private sins, once admitted, could be forgiven and swept under the rug as "youthful indiscretions" irrelevant to one...
As the impeachment debacle showed, both schools oversimplify the public's complicated conception of character. What, then, do we want in a presidential candidate--what is character that we are mindful of it?
It may seem be crass, but most Americans pick candidates based on predictions of what they will do for us in office. Character is part of a results-oriented package that indicates what, as a nation, we are getting for our vote. Most Americans do draw a distinction between private...
Along with a candidate's personal malfeasance comes the danger of a reaction from the political opposition. No matter how irrelevant to presidential functions a past ethical lapse may be, one can be sure that eventually the Henry Hydes and Bob Barrs of the world will emerge with their inquiries...
None of this, of course, gives any indication of who to vote for in today's election, or whether the specific flaws of any candidate disqualify him from our highest office. But Americans should know as they go to the polls that character means something more than just charm or...