Character That Matters?

[Scott_Dredge@BayNetworks.COM (Scott Dredge)]

Hi all --

Since nobody flipped out when Briana posted an article critical of our
commander in chief titled 'Lies that Matter' that was an opinion originally
published in the New Republic, I'm beginning to wonder if anyone really
cares about character and integrity in our elected representatives.

Enjoy (or vomit)!  :-)  Scott

Chenoweth admits to 6-year affair

BOISE, Idaho - Rep. Helen Chenoweth, who campaigned on family values and
first won office after the disclosure of her opponent's illicit affair,
admitted having a long-term affair with a married man in the 1980s.

In a story Thursday, The Idaho Statesman quoted the two-term conservative
Republican as saying she regretted her six-year affair but finds her
situation markedly different from that of President Clinton, whose
resignation she has sought since April over the Monica Lewinsky affair.

'Fourteen years ago, when I was a private citizen and a single woman, I was
involved in a relationship that I came to regret, that I'm not proud of,'
Chenoweth said. 'I've asked for God's forgiveness, and I've received it.'

Her comments come less than a week after another conservative Republican,
Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, admitted to fathering a child from an
extramarital relationship in the early 1980s. Burton has been a leading
critic of Clinton, but has focused mainly on campaign fund-raising, not his
private life.

Her office in Boise did not immediately respond Thursday morning to a
request for further comment.

Chenoweth's admission came as her campaign began airing television
advertisements in which she accuses Clinton of damaging the presidency and
then pointedly asks Democratic challenger Dan Williams, 'Where do you
stand, Dan?'

'I believe that personal conduct and integrity does matter,' Chenoweth says
in the ad. The newspaper, in an editor's note, said it decided to pursue a
story about the relationship because of the ads. There had been rumors
about the relationship for years.

But in admitting her own indiscretion, Chenoweth told The Statesman, 'My
private life was my own life. I am a single woman. After the divorce, I
dated.'

'As a member of Congress I'm concerned about the president's ability to
lead our nation in this time of worldwide economic crisis. And I think you
have to look at the facts squarely. You have to tell the truth. It's not a
matter of whether one forgives the president. It's a matter of trust.'

Chenoweth, 60, who has made family values a major focus of her
congressional career, defeated incumbent Democrat Larry LaRocco four years
ago. The election that came just a week after the disclosure that LaRocco
had misled the public when he denied during an earlier campaign that he had
had an affair before he was elected to Congress in 1990.

Chenoweth, at the time, did not personally make an issue of the report,
saying LaRocco's affair was none of her business. But the affair and
LaRocco's denials were widely believed to have contributed to her victory.

In defending her attacks on Clinton, Chenoweth said conduct while she was a
private citizen is not comparable to a politician's behavior in office.

'We need to draw a distinction between a person's private life' before
holding office and what the person does while in office, she said.

Chenoweth's affair was with her longtime business partner, Vern
Ravenscroft. Ravenscroft, 78, a former state legislator and unsuccessful
Republican gubernatorial nominee, acknowledged the affair to the newspaper.
He said the affair ended 14 years ago when he and Chenoweth decided their
families had to come first.

His wife of 57 years, Harriett, told The Statesman that Chenoweth brought
on the affair.
'They were business partners, yes, and it went beyond that and it shouldn't
have,' Mrs. Ravenscroft said. 'I want it forgotten and put behind us. I
don't see how Helen can live with herself and do this.' Chenoweth said she
didn't want to hurt Mrs. Ravenscroft and 'I only wish I could have learned
the lessons sooner.'

Considered one of the most conservative members of Congress, Chenoweth has
gained national attention - and often criticism - for a number of her stands.

She condemned the Oklahoma City bombing but defended militias in general as
legal, leading critics to label her the 'poster girl for the militia
movement.'

Chenoweth also drew protests with her comments that blacks and Hispanics
did not move to northern Idaho because it was too cold, describing them as
the 'warm-climate community.'