Private Lives in Public Service

I don't hold politicians on pedestals. I don't expect them to be the smartest or most charismatic people. I know that they're not perfect and they make mistakes. But there are some mistakes that just really upset me.

Before criminal law today, I went to the LA times website to find this story: San Francisco abuzz over mayor's affair. My aunt and all my Bruin Democrat friends who have met talked very highly of SF Mayor Newsom. I don't know all that much about him, besides his bold move in legalizing gay marriage in California, but I was excited to see that LA Mayor Villaraigosa might actually have some competition for Governor in 2010.

A lot of people believe that what a politician does in their private life is their own business, and we should focus on what they do for the people. While I respect that opinion and somewhat agree, another part of me does believe that certain aspects of politicians' personal lives do matter. Having an affair with your campaign managers wife may not be as bad as lobbying scandals or preying on underage pages, but I think that Mayor Newsom's actions raise large questions about his character. Call me old fashioned or even judgmental but having an affair with the wife of someone who was your campaign manager and deputy chief of staff is a little unsettling to me.

To me, a politician is someone who represents their constituents in the government and to really, the rest of the world. Moreover, politicians also represent ideologies, parties, causes, etc. I don't think I would I would be so let down with this whole situation if I didn't think Mayor Newsom's actions reflected poorly on the Democratic Party (who finally had good things going for them, and who never needs more infidelity), the gay marriage cause (which already has a hard time against people trying to "protect marriage").

I know that many of our great leaders in the past had their own indiscretions that people probably just didn't know about because there wasn't the media that we have today (though they might not have cared, who knows). But I think the inescapable reality is that politicians are celebrities today and we will find out everything about them. Perhaps you can have an affair and otherwise be a very principled person, who makes ethical choices and runs our government well; who am I to say? And though I don't think a politician should be investigated or impeached, I do think that politicians should expect your constituents to be a little upset. We already live in a day in age where politicians "mistakes" have made us have less and less faith in our government. We don't need more people who don't feel like we can't trust.

It might be a lot of pressure to be a good leader and have your private life exposed, but I really don't know if that's too much to ask of people who we entrust with so much power and so much responsibility.