When does character count? During the months that the Clinton Monica scandal dominated the news, a growing number of Americans felt that as long as Clinton carried out his duties as President what he did in his private life should not matter. Even the fact that he lied under oath could and should be overlooked because he was lying about something that was none of our business in the first place. To those who supported Clinton, character did not count.
Interestingly enough, these same people will be the first to tell you today that Bush lied. They firmly believe that Bush lied about Saddam trying to buy uranium in Niger so that he could declare war on Iraq, and this "lie," in their minds, is reason enough to replace him in November. It doesn't matter that Congress and the English Parliament also acted upon the same intelligence that Bush had, nor does it matter that there is now hard evidence that Saddam really was trying to buy uranium in Niger. To those who oppose Bush, character counts.
Now some might be tempted to say that in the first case the lie had to do with a personal private issue, where as in the second case "the lie" brought a country to war so there is no real inconsistency. Therefore, the importance of character is not being determined along party lines. However, now we have a situation that can test that theory.
It has come to light that Kerry lied not just once but numerous times about his service in Vietnam. These lies helped the enemy in their psychological torture of our POWS, were instrumental in the death and or suffering of thousands upon thousands of South Vietnamese and caused needless emotional suffering for our military men when they came home.
The test of sincerity for all those who are outraged that Bush "lied" is to ask whether or not they are appalled at Kerry's lies. If they do not believe that Kerry lied even after his campaign has basically admitted that he did or if they do not believe that Kerry's lies matter, then they do not care about character unless it advances their agenda or helps their party.
I believe, in what has already been seen and heard since the Swift Boat Vets ended their long silence, the sad truth is that character only counts when a Republican is running for or in office.
The hypocrisy being seen on the left can be found on the right as well. Wherever it is found in it's utter ridiculousness, it should be a warning to those who haven't been corrupted to be careful not to loose sight of the value of character and to demand integrity in their leaders regardless of party affiliation.
