2011 archive

Michael Serconish is a conservative columnist and radio host who I find an interesting read.

Though I usually disagree with him, I often find his reasoning to be sensible and understandable (unlike Charles Krauthammer and Cal Thomas, who exemplify the “say whatever sounds good today regardless of what I said yesterday” school of argument).

He does not toe the Fox News line and dares to take positions that more orthodox conservatives would not be willing to state in public. He thinks; he does not parrot.

He often thinks wrong, of course, but he thinks (I once said to Atrios that Smerconish’s writings have “a certain ‘everyman’ feel, sort of like Fred Flintstone with a typewriter”).

Now comes Smerconish arguing that politicians’ personal lives are under too much scrutiny, citing Mitch Daniels and Arnold Swarzennegger as examples. A nugget:

The irony is that boorish personal behavior among the political elite may be fueled by the same personality traits that voters consistently seek out in elected officials.

Frank Farley, professor of psychology at Temple University and a former president of the American Psychological Association, believes that many of the factors that make for a successful politician – most significant, a predisposition toward risk-raking – also lead those individuals to behave badly in their personal lives.

Farley says these individuals have a “type T personality” – the T stands for thrill. They’re drawn to unpredictable, high-profile, challenging jobs, making politics the perfect career. According to Farley, the very qualities that persuade voters that type T’s are best-suited for that business – independent streak, strong will, magnetic personality – can also drive personal misbehavior.

He goes on to argue that, unless there is evidence of public misconduct, perhaps it would be best not to overemphasize “personal misbehavior” in assessing qualifications for public office.

Left unspoken in the the phrase “personal misbehavior” is one word, as this column specifically seems to apply to “personal mating misbehavior.”

Also missing was this: it was conservative, specifically, “family values” Republicans–you know, the ones commonly found in airport restrooms and on Craig’s List and in bed with persons other than their spouses–who made personal behavior fair game.

In doing so, they made themselves fair game.

What goes ’round and all that.