No such thing as the perfect candidate

“When are you going to learn that in presidential elections there is no such thing as the perfect candidate?”

That was the response I sent a friend of mine after an email he sent me about the ABC Nightline interview that aired Jan. 19 with Newt Gingrich’s ex-wife Marianne where it was revealed the presidential candidate had asked her for an open marriage while he was having an affair with his current wife, Calista.

I did not watch the Nightline interview as I saw it as nothing more than tabloid trash. It’s not Gingrich’s “open marriage” proposal that I find appallingly sad that South Carolina voters thought the best candidate to beat President Obama this November happens to be someone with questionable moral character (whether Newt Gingrich is now a changed person or not). What I find more troubling is the fact Gingrich was brought up on ethics violations during his term as Speaker of the House back in 1997 and eventually resigned. That alone to me raises red flags.

“We all know the record,” said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Meet the Press who endorses Republican front runner Mitt Romney. "He was run out of the speakership by his own party. He was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. This is a guy who has had a very difficult political career at times and has been an embarrassment to the party ... I don't need to regale the country with that entire list again except to say this: I'm not saying he will do it again in the future, but sometimes past is prologue."

Unfortunately, as much as I am loathe to admit it, Newt Gingrich made a few good points Thursday night when he went on a tirade against CNN moderator John King when he asked the candidate if he would like to comment on the “open marriage” issue.

“I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that," Gingrich said. "Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it --two days before the primary -- a significant question in a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine.”

Considering I have no love for the liberally biased “drive-by” news media in how they go after conservatives with a vengeance every time someone is involved is some scandal and do their damnedest to bury any negative stories about Democrats I felt like joining the South Carolina voters as they cheered.

"The story is false,” Gingrich went on. “Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period says the story was false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested, because they would like to attack any Republican. They're attacking the governor, they're attacking me. I'm sure they'll probably get around to Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul. I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans."

That’s what South Carolina voters were fed up with when Gingrich spoke and that’s the only reason why he won.  This election is no longer about how many skeletons a candidate has in his closet. I don’t believe that has ever been the case. There is not a single president this country has elected who has not exhibited some sort of questionable moral flaw that upon finding out the supposed truth might have made one wonder why they voted for them in the first place.

This presidential election is going about whether or not that person will be able to beat President Obama this November and bring about a different kind of change versus the so-called positive change this country has witnessed since 2008.

Would I much rather see someone better than Gingrich come out on top at this point? Most definitely.

I have no idea who I am going to vote for at this point. I probably won’t even make a decision until Election Day this November. I will say this. As much as it pains me to say it, whoever it is I vote for my decision will be based on who I think can do the job as leader of the country and not so much on their negative past, despite my wish that there was someone out there who has some moral character to be president.

©1/25/12