Madtown got me thinking about this and it didn't seem to fit anywhere else so I thought I'd start a new thread.

Should public officials be held to a higher standard than the rest of Americans? If so, what is that standard?

The reason it was Madtown that got me to think about this is because she pointed out the hyprocrisy of the "family values" Bush family in rearing their own daughters. I'm sure someone will respond to me and say George W. and Laura Bush are not responsible for their adult daughters' actions. Jenna and Barbaba are adults and responsible for themselves. I agree with that.

What gets me is the fact that George W. had been the governor/public official in Texas for two terms. He and his wife had all those years to teach their daughters that their family's actions were a model by which society sets its standards; that they would be subject to public scrutiny. It seems those young women were never taught that. Is that wrong? Should they have been taught that?

Jamie
I think it is pretty obvious that you don't have children. Family values can be taught, but there is much more to it than that! I can tell you from experience.
How about the Kennedy family if you want to site examples? It goes on and on. What about the Clintons daughter's latest episodes? Is it different now that he is out of office and she is not as protected from the press? NO!
PUBLIC OFFICIALS THEMSELVES should be held to a higher standard in my opinion,but I think dragging their families into it is out of line. I dare to say that there is not a family in America that is not touched by drugs and alcohol abuse if they are really honest. With peer pressure and the life style of today's families it can happen in families with the most caring and careful parents. Again, in my opinion, it must be harder for children of politicians, movie stars or highly sucessful people.
Frankly, I was a little shocked at your attitude though, as they say, I will defend your right to it.

I think Jaime is recognizing that problems like these can happen in any family.

I think she is asking if these people should be held to a higher standard.

Should the family lives of politicians, and celebrities for that matter, be all over the media?

Yeah, it's interesting in a voyeristic sort of way, but sometimes the media seems to go to far.

But on the other hand, if we weren't told about these things, we might feel ripped off.

I think this is one of those cases that if you don't care to pay attention to these types of stories, you should stop reading or change the channel -- if you can!

Mike

If that is what she meant then I am mistaken. I thought there was another thread about the press and families, and that this one was "Should pulbic officials be held to higher standards".
In my opinion these are 2 different subjects.

"He and his wife had all those years to teach their daughters that their family's actions were a model by which society sets its standards; that they would be subject to public scrutiny. It seems those young women were never taught that. Is that wrong? Should they have been taught that"
This is the part that I found surprising. Particularly the line It seems those young women were never taught that. How would anyone know? Does the First Lady strike you as the type that would not try to teach family values? She certainly doesn't me. As Mike said in the other thread just what did the girls do that was SO BAD.
I expect to read and hear about the girls. That is the way it is! As you say, I can turn the channel. Again, I think this belongs in the other thread. I still don't understand that part being here.

MOUSE- you called me on bad writing. Thanks.

Mike was correct in paraphrashing my intent with this thread.

I attempted to use the Bush daughters as a current example, but I realize now it came off more as a condemnation of them. You are right in bringing up the many follies of the Kennedy family, they are a great example.

To clarify, should public officials AND their families, as part of the "package" of a public official, be held to higher standards than the average American?

In that case, Jamie, no I don't think families of officials can be held to higher standards. In the first place the kids choose this life style. Also, I think parents can only do the best that they can do. Sometimes it is not enough, perhaps sometimes it is too much. In my own family I have children who were rebellious and those who were not. They were all raised much the same. But realize that my husband and I grew with our family. (hopefully wiser)I firmly believe in strong moral values, but we are all products of our parents and the times in which we live. What is unacceptable in one generation is not in another and so on.
However, as I stated earlier. I definitely think politicians should be held to a much higher standard.
What comes to mind as I sit here though is how it has changed. At one time the hint of extramarital affairs would ruin the career of politicians. Now...
I remember when divorce could ruin a business career. Now...
Once I didn't inhale would have ruined a career. Now....
Well, that is the way I feel anyway, and I guess quite strongly and emotionally.

I don't know how I missed this conversation.

Yes, politicians should be held at a higher standard than the rest of the country. We need to
be able to respect our public officials.

My point was that Republicans talked as if they alone had family values, much the same as
Bush's remark about Republicans caring more about America than Democrats. If you
disagree with the B. administration, you don't care about America.

Did the Bush daughters do anything so wrong. Not really, just stupid. After all, they should
know the whole world is watching them. Not so smart to use a fake ID when everybody and
his brother know what you look like.

Like the Kennedys, a few of the Bush kids are making some bad choices. Does that mean they
were not taught good values. I don't think so. I think they'll probably all straighten out, given time.

No, public officials shouldn't be held to a higher standard. The United States or states constitution doesn't state that public officials are above the law.

Public officials should be held at a higher standard because people look up to them and they need to set a good example.

MT

I do not feel that public officials or their families should be held to a higher standard. It would be nice if some of them set a higher standard, but that's probabaly expecting too much. What I do expect is a lack of hypocrisy: I don't expect to see glaring differences between the behavior of public officials and their positions. If, for example, a politician takes a very hard line on mandatory sentencing for drug offenses, I don't expect to see his/her children being exempt from those laws; if a politician is stridently pro-life, I don't expect him/her to be paying for an abortion; if a politician is a crusader against corporate crime, I don't expect him/her to be taking massive campaign contributions from the worst of white collar criminals. I feel that any of the above indicators of gross hypocrisy should be grounds for impeachment.

Wertz has a valid point here. Whatever term you want to use. The word hypocrisy is becoming a very over-used one. I might add along with closure, the term connect the dots, and tweaking. We are probably all asking for honesty and integrity. These are hard to find in most human beings, and politics has never had an abundant supply. I do think, however, that times and events can cause one to change his outlook on a particular subject so I don't think anyone can be held hard and fast to everything they say. Poorly put, I know, but with complete explanations I can see where minds might be changed. I don't agree with the part about impeachment. That is what elections are for, and that is how we speak.