Arnold, his scandals, and why I frankly don't care

One of the most discussed topics today is Arnold Schwarzenegger and his lovechild scandal, where he supposedly had an affair with his live-in maid and had a son with him like ten years ago. Granted that he is no longer governor, this recent incident along with the scandal surrounding the director of the IMF (where he supposedly raped a maid in a hotel), only contribute to the growing distrust of politicians among the general public.

But the question I propose is: Is it worth all the fuss? Do the characters and morals of politicians reflect on their ability to do their job right? Refer to the following quote I once read:

It is time to elect the world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

Candidate A
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks quite a few martinis a day.

Candidate B
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a great deal of whisky every evening.

Candidate C
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.

Which of these candidates would be your choice? Decide first.















Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

Surprising, is it not? Although two of the leaders mentioned helped create and pushed forth what we know as the modern world, they honestly do not possess the characters that we idealize and place value into, but it does not make them any less of a leader. I'm not saying, by any means, that we should vote for cheaters, womanizers or people of poor character. But if given a choice between a person who has shown they are vulnerable and suceptible to flaws, but will run a country right, versus a good law-abiding, so called 'God fearing' politician who is screwing up our country behind our backs, I have to say I'd pick the first one.

Rather than focusing our attention on personal relationships that read more like celebrity rumor mill stories, we need to focus on the events that would really impact our lives. I find that Arnold's situation is pretty much private business that should be left to the parties affected, especially since he's no longer in public office. Though y'know even if he was still a governor, I really can't cut Arnold any slack, considering that he played a role in pretty much screwing California over. So sorry Arnold, you are in a lose-lose situation. At least during the Clinton years we actually ran a few budget surpluses...

And as for the IMF guy... Rape is a criminal offense (as opposed to a moral offense). So if found guilty, I hope justice will be brought to you. That's that.