Re: Character That Matters?

[Briana LeClaire <mmsmom1@yahoo.com>]

well of course i have to throw in my $.02

Four differences between Helen & the leader of the free world:

1. she's contrite
2. full disclosure, once someone asked
3. she didn't lie to Congress about it
4. it was with a peer, not a subordinate.

WELL??????  :-)  Briana

Scott Dredge <Scott_Dredge@baynetworks.com> wrote:
>
> 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.'
> 
> 

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