Character Matters

Full disclosure: I was too young to vote, but I supported George H.W. Bush against Reagan. I had concerns about what he called “voodoo economics.” I still do. I voted for Reagan against Carter and again against Mondale. By the end of his first term, he had won me over; by the end of his second term, he had lost me again. Promises not kept and misgivings about what really happened with Iran/Contra were the issue for me. It was also becoming clear that some of his ideas about deregulation were having a deleterious effect on businesses in Mississippi.

I supported GHW Bush against Dukakis. While my father never had an issue with my support of Republican Campaigns, some of his friends were rubbing his nose in it. When running for his second term, I continued to support Bush, even though Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and I had mutual friends. Little Rock is an afternoon’s drive from Jackson. I knew things about Clinton that, in my mind, made him less qualified to be president than Bush, and my personal experience with him didn’t change my mind.

Political campaigns are notorious for saying things they don’t particularly believe in with hopes of winning an election.

The Bush campaign used the phrase “Character Matters” to discredit Bill Clinton as a presidential candidate. Although the Bush Campaign never spelled it out, the character issue at question here was marital infidelity and womanizing. For his part, Bush believed this stance intently. His respect for his wife was well-known. The charge that Clinton was unfaithful to his wife was well-known, as several of his mistresses had come out.

Privately, Bush called the Clintons “unprincipled hippies.” Clinton was the first person of that generation to have a shot at the Whitehouse. Hillary Clinton repeatedly “stood by her man” even though she’d be heavily criticized for it.

Bush was ultimately unable to defeat Clinton despite the fact that the entire world knew about the character issues. Bob Dole was also unable to beat him. By the end of his first term, I was willing to vote for Clinton in a second term because of the economy's condition and the shape of the federal budget.

During his second term, Republicans made an effort to impeach Clinton based on the same character issues from the two elections. While the charge on paper was obstruction, the issue was, again, infidelity, and Clinton was guilty. House Republicans voted for impeachment, and the issue was sent to the Senate for a trial. To convict, a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which was divided almost perfectly fifty-fifty, was required. As Majority Leader, the issue fell on Trent Lott to organize the prosecution, which he did as quickly as possible, knowing he couldn’t win.

The phrase “Character Matters” arose again when Al Gore ran against George W Bush, mainly used by Rush Limbaugh, which seemed funny to me because Limbaugh had also been the one to call Gore a “Boy Scout” which offended most Scouts I know.

You don’t hear Republicans use the phrase “Character Matters” much anymore. For one thing, the two times they trotted it out against Clinton, even though he was absolutely guilty of what they said he did, pointing it out didn’t matter. America wasn’t willing to vote against Clinton because he cheated on his wife.

When McCain ran against Barack Obama, the “character matters” slogan was replaced with accusations that Obama wasn’t really an American and his wife was secretly a man. The current Republican presidential candidate levied both of these charges and led their use.

At this point, you’re probably thinking I’m going to point out that Donald Trump is far more guilty of cheating on his wife than Bill Clinton. That’s actually saying quite a lot, considering how often Clinton did it. Since you already know this, I don’t have to say it.

I’m concerned that, in the Republican Party, Character no longer matters. Not even a little. Brett Favre is out stumping for the GOP after stealing millions meant for the poorest people in Mississippi. The character charges against Donald Trump are far too many to mention.

I’m told this doesn’t matter. He’s good for the economy (which isn’t exactly true), he’s a “troll,” and he’ll do “what has to be done.”

I don’t know how we’ve gotten this far from where we were in 1980. For me, Character matters, and principles matter. Maybe it was always just a slogan. It didn’t work anyway.

Politically, I’m a man without a country these days. I’ll fight pretty hard where culture war issues are concerned because I believe in my heart that culture war issues have no place in law. I also believe they have no place in the teachings of Jesus, but that’s another essay. To me, that’s not a party thing. The Democrats are actually far more guilty where culture war issues are concerned than the Republicans, just not recently.

We vote again tomorrow. I feel like a horse that’s too old to ride, so they trot me out on regular times and hook me up to a rotary exerciser. Character matters, or it doesn’t. You can’t have it both ways. To me, it matters.

Hey! I'ma keep running

'Cause a winner don't quit on themselves