9201050030
DETROIT FREE PRESS
920202
Sunday, February 02, 1992
METRO FINAL
1F
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1992, Detroit Free Press
MORE SUBSTANCE, LESS SLEAZE PLEASE
This column is about who our next president will be, and it begins with a
premise: that human beings make mistakes. That they are not perfect. That the
ones who run for office have the same temptations, weaknesses and remorse
that you and I have.
If you don't accept this premise, don't bother reading on. Your vote has
been cast.
And you're voting for the wrong person.
The right person for president is someone who knows how to get things
done. Someone who has run something in his or her life, like a business, or a
college, or a newspaper. Someone who is familiar with money, enough to know
its power, and authority, enough to know its danger. Someone who started at
the bottom, learning the value of hard work.
Someone who has traveled and seen that different people have different
ways. Someone with an education and a love of history. Someone with a family,
because caring for a nation requires a parental-type love. Someone with
compassion for the poor and sick.
Someone who has been around, tried things, so that nothing comes as a
shock. Someone who has learned from mistakes and can laugh at them. Someone
who loves the principles of America: freedom, equality, the right to a fair
shake no matter who you are.
Sounds great, huh? Forget it. It'll never happen. Because such a person
also would have one other characteristic: common sense.
And common sense says that running for president these days just isn't
worth it.
Sane people need not apply
Want proof? Look at Bill Clinton.
Clinton, the Arkansas governor and a Democratic candidate for president,
became an appetizer to our scandal-hungry media when a woman named Gennifer
Flowers said she had a 12-year affair with him. The fact that she said this,
for a fee, to a supermarket tabloid, the Star -- which also reports things
like Elvis coming back for a cheeseburger -- had little bearing on the story.
She said it. He denied it. Bingo. Front page.
"We should get back to the real problems of this country," Clinton urged
during a "60 Minutes" interview last Sunday. He was sitting next to his wife
who admitted that, while they had difficulties, they still love each other and
are working this thing out.
But that didn't stop Flowers from drawing a mob at her press conference.
It didn't stop headlines like "HE SAYS NO, SHE SAYS YES." It didn't stop all
three networks from leading their news with the story. Suddenly, a guy who few
had ever heard of was thrust into the spotlight with his pants down.
And somewhere, the right person for president shook his or her head and
said, "No way would I put myself -- or my family -- through that."
Don't we realize what we're doing with this witch hunt for titillating
secrets? We are driving any sane person from ever wanting to be president.
And why? Because we demand such high standards? Or because sex and scandal are
all we're interested in anymore?
Political views take backseat
Clinton is hardly the first to feel this sting. Gary Hart was shot down
by his romances. Ted Kennedy's personal life has handcuffed his ambitions.
Geraldine Ferraro's finances were raked over the coals when she sought the
vice presidency. Thomas Eagleton was forced out when he revealed a past
medical treatment for depression and exhaustion.
Now I am not saying we should elect a louse. What I am saying is, in this
day and age, if you eliminate everyone who ever had a marital indiscretion,
ever experimented with marijuana, ever had too much to drink, you are
eliminating a huge chunk of the population. And what you are left with are
folks who may pass on those tests but fail on others.
George Bush, as far as we know, has never cheated on Barbara. Yet he's
shown a constant disregard for the poor. Where does that rank on the sin list?
Ronald Reagan, by all accounts, never fooled around on Nancy, yet it didn't
stop him from "forgetting" about Iran-contra.
Richard Nixon, it is said, never cheated on his wife; he just cheated on
the country. Meanwhile, John Kennedy, who many say was the last good
president, supposedly slept with women all over the White House.
Face it. We Americans are more interested in sleaze than substance. I bet
nine out of 10 people can't tell me Clinton's view on the economy; but they
can tell me his love life.
For this we must blame the media, because the media chase these stories
like hungry dogs. But the public is guilty, too. Nobody forces you to buy the
Star or watch "Inside Edition." Yet so many of you do.
The end result? We elect actors and aristocrats, then complain that
America is screwed up. And we wait for the next sucker so we can peep into
his bedroom. It's sad. It's true. And so is this:
Somewhere out there is the perfect person to run this country.
And out there is where he or she will stay.
PRESIDENT; ELECTION; CANDIDATE; CAMPAIGN