Keller @ Large: Politicians' Private Affairs Matter To Voters
BOSTON (CBS) - I spent some time in Manchester N.H. last night chatting with Herman Cain supporters as they awaited their hero's arrival, and I have to say I feel genuinely sorry for them.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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Like most of the political activists I meet, they are earnest, caring people who want to make their world a better place and have latched onto a particular political candidate as the vehicle for doing so.
Their interest in Mr. Cain's ideas on tax reform and economic growth is sincere, and their enthusiasm for the idea of a non-politician as president is understandable.
But their candidate is going down the tubes because of what appears to be mounting voter aversion to an alleged pattern of adulterous behavior, from unwanted passes to long-term affairs.
Cain's poll numbers are eroding faster than a soft-serve chocolate dip on a 90-degree day, and while his widely-publicized stumbling over foreign policy details may well be part of that, it seems safe to say that the massive publicity surrounding his alleged peccadillos is the main factor, despite his adamant denials.
Is it just me, or does this come as something of a surprise?
Twenty years after Bill Clinton was elected after essentially admitting to serial infidelity to his wife, and re-elected after getting inappropriately funky with a bovine intern, the conventional wisdom has been that we voters just don't care anymore about a politician's private affairs, consider them a family matter of no import on his or her public standing, and would prefer that the media never bother us with the salacious details again.
But if this were true, Anthony Weiner might still be the congressman from Queens, and Herman Cain might still be up there in the polls.
Perhaps it is not an accident that in the election for Clinton's successor, the Republican nominee pulled an improbable upset in part by pledging to "restore honor" to the White House.
Is it really a coincidence that the two presidents we've elected since Clinton have been people of unimpeachable marital integrity?
And by the way, when is Arnold Schwarzenegger's blockbuster return to the movies going to launch?
Soon, I'm sure.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
