Character

There is some TV station with the tag line "characters welcome" -- they use the definition of character as "interesting, fun to watch" people. Usually, though, we think of character as something good and worthy -- the idea that a person of character is someone who does the right thing, acts in an upstanding manner.

When I was a kid, I was taught by my parents that you treat people with handicaps with respect, they were people who might need a little extra help (e.g. hold the door for someone in a wheelchair) but they were just regular people. Except, my dad said, the MORALLY handicapped -- they were just plain fun to watch.

And yes, while there should be NO JOY in watching people implode, there is something to "how the mighty have fallen."

Good morning Eliot Spitzer. Run up status to Hillary Clinton.

First, Mr. Governor.

Everything in context.

A lot of times, the fact that someone does something "bad" is a function of who they are. Personally, I don't think there is something inherently bad about prostitution. I am NOT talking about the youth sex trade, I am NOT talking about people forced into prostitution. (Those are HORRIBLE things.) I'm talking about two consenting adults undertaking a fiscal transaction -- currently legal in some counties in Nevada.

When I was in college, I had a job selling encyclopedias door to door, and we would all be fielded out of the DC office, and driven in groups to the suburbs. After, I'd meet up in DC with the kids I carpooled with. Some nights, if my group returned to the office before my carpoolers, I'd talk to the local hookers. One of them once said that she saw no difference between taking money for sex, versus taking payment in the form of a nice dinner and perhaps jewelry. I've always thought about that…..

Point is, the act itself, is not all that horrible. (Mann Act notwithstanding -- transport is BAD.)

I know someone today who hooked tricks a bunch of years ago. If you met her, you wouldn't know -- she looks just like all the other suburban housewives.

But back to Governor Spitzer. The thing that makes this fun is that he PROSECUTED prostitution rings. (A bad joke would be to find out whether when he was with the woman, he gave her a driver's license….think back a few months and laugh along.) He ran for governor on a platform of ethics.

In politics, there are men who should really know better and NEVER get caught with a hooker à Jimmy Carter, Gerry Ford, Abe Lincoln, to name a few. HOWEVER, we would think nothing of it if there was actual art of Bill Clinton with a hooker. Or Gary Hart. Or even Sam Adams. It's all in what you say you are.

He'll resign soon -- and if you're keeping count, that's one SuperDelegate down for Hillary.

And speaking of Hillary -- she has a part in the character debate also. Hillary Clinton is running on her WHITE HOUSE experience, NOT her Senate Armed Services Committee experience. Listen to her stump speeches -- she talks about things from the 90's and NEVER mentions her A.S. experience except to apologize for her Iraq vote (sort of apologize…..) She actually can't -- her voting record would hurt her with the Democratic base. (And yes, I'll be posting her voting record -- probably this weekend.)

But she runs on her White House record, and yesterday she got caught. Twice. Just like Spitzer -- what she did wasn't bad -- but she set up the context, and then she lied.

First -- her claim that she brokered peace in Northern Ireland. From her web site: "She has continued to advance peace in Northern Ireland by maintaining close ties with Irish leaders and promoting business partnerships between Northern Ireland and the United States." http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/security/

From the Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/08/wuspols108.xml

Hillary Clinton had no direct role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and is a "wee bit silly" for exaggerating the part she played, according to Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former First Minister of the province.

"I don't know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around," he said. Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don't want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."

And then there was the trip to Bosnia. From A Clinton press release in 2007: "As First Lady she worked for reconciliation in the aftermath of wars and she led humanitarian efforts for Bosnia and on behalf of Kosovar refugees." http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=4573

Then again, to actually SEE what she did, check the art: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/oliver-willis/hillary-clintons-experi_b_90588.html where you will see that her refuge experience was limited to standing on stage at a USO show with Chelsea, Sheryl Crow, Sinbad, and an unidentified US Army officer -- SINGING.

There is nothing wrong with going on a USO tour, nor visiting Ireland. Just don't claim you worked on the peace process. ESPECIALLY if you're going to cite it AS your foreign policy experience.

And that isn't even my favourite lack-of-character hypocrisy. THAT is reserved for the PLO. That's (so far) the best failing fact check. Hillary Clinton has said many times that she is a great supporter of Israel. Yet she did something that NO OTHER U.S. politician has EVER done. She kissed a terrorist. And yes, there is art. http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/hillarSy.htm. Back in 1999 Hillary listened to a speech by Soha (Mrs. Yasser) Arafat where Soha claimed that Israelis were gassing Palestinian children. Something that never has, and never could, occur. After the speech, Hillary kissed Soha on both cheeks. Check the picture.

Jessica's rule -- sure, run on your record Eliot. Run on your record, Hilary. But make sure it's a record you can actually live.