Character Matters... Right?

It does not feel like it was three years ago. But it was. 

Three years ago I was sitting in my senior AP Government class, watching Presidential Debates, anxiously awaiting the final votes on the Republican and Democrat candidates. In November of 2008, Barrack Obama was voted into office. And now here we are in 2011 with yet another presidential election looming in the near future. Even though the election isn't until next year, we as an American people start to hear things about who will be the next president a year after an election. Lately we've been hearing things like Donald Trump running for candidacy. Oh politics. 

One of the things that we will be bombarded with as the election draws nearer is candidates bashing on each other through annoying commercials. Finding things from each others' past to demoralize and bring down the character of their opponent. This is a very effective use of the tools at everyone's disposal when making an argument. Using ethos, or appealing to the moral values and ethics of your audience, can be an effective method. However, I do wonder how much the personal character of the presidential candidate matters?

Yes, they need to be able to make sound and good judgments when it comes to the country that we live in, but in their personal lives do we really need a perfectly moral president? It would be nice, but is it necessary? Take, for example, JFK. A president that most people revere as one of our best and who did a lot of good for our country. When looking at a lot of his policies, even though he was a democrat, I, as someone who leans toward the republican viewpoint, can agree with a lot of them. During his term he encountered a recession. And what did he do? He cut taxes. In his annual budget message to Congress on January 17, 1963 he said, "Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased – not a reduced – flow of revenues to the federal government." 

He helped stimulate the economy and got the country started back on the path to prosperity. JFK was a great president. However, in his personal life he was not a morally sound man. With multiple instances of marital infidelity during and most likely before his presidential reign, most of us today would see that as a big "con" when considering him for president. Yet, with this questionable personal life he still served our country honorably and well.

In the 60's, news of the president's scandalous side-life was kept quiet by the press. However, in today's world, journalists do not let those things sit quietly. They will advertise anything that might mar the reputation of a potential president. 

So my question is what do you think? Do you place weight in the moral character of your presidential candidates when it comes to their personal life? Or do you place more weight in their political morals and values and their ability to make good choices for our nation? 

Apparently the media thinks that a lot of people place a lot of weight in the morals and values of our candidates' lives, because otherwise all the TV screens across the nation would not be littered with annoying commercials sponsored by one candidate that serve one purpose: to bash the other. 

What do you think?

I'm still in the developing stage when it comes to my political views, but I do know that I am always annoyed when a pointless commercial comes on trying to convince me to not vote for the "other guy" because he is "bad."