Part of our carnal nature is to pick sides, deify the side we picked, and
demonize the side we rejected. Meanwhile, God is on the sidelines.
So serial polygamy is overlooked in the cases of Reagan, Dole, Gingerich &
Gramm, who each abandoned "the wife of their youth". The fact that Bill and
Hillary showed character by saving their first marriage and making it work
in spite of Bill's philandering, is ignored.
Overlooking foibles is one thing, but selectively overlooking "our" foibles,
while accenting "their" foibles is sin.
----------
From: PMJAQUA
To: asa
Subject: Re: Reply to Dennis
Date: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 8:09AM
Here is one politically conservative, evangelical Protestant's
perspective on the issue of integrity in the lives of political figures.
I don't think anyone entertains the idea that Dole or other pols
are perfect. Just as we each try to cut ourselves some slack for our own
failings we may also overlook some of the foibles of our politicians. When
Ralph Reed calls Dole a man of integrity I think he is looking at Dole's
record of military and public service, his willingness to follow through on
his word, and perhaps the lack of scandals in his career. Of course no one
is perfect in all those areas (not even Billy Graham). I guess most of us
use a percentage scale or something like that. [i.e.- I might say that
someone who does the right thing >50% of the time is a man of integrity the
majority of the time.]
So I don't think that Mr. Reed is trying to get around what the
Bible says. I think he's simply making an appraisal of an imperfect man.
Mike Jaqua