The dirt on everybody

Recently encountered joke: "I don't have any skeletons in my closet, but only because the bodies haven't rotted yet."

"The Skeleton Closet" is an absolutely charming site, and they do a fine job with their documentation. It's just the place to go to get something juicy to torment True Believer friends of whatever political fancy.

However, I'm pretty sure I don't agree with their contention that "character DOES matter". I've noticed that the losing candidates of the last three elections (at least) have tried to make private character an issue, and all failed miserably. (Probably the cleverest bit of McCain's strategy is not to lean hard on the character card.) So, at least for getting elected, it's pretty clear that being various kinds of slimeball isn't enough to sink you.

I also think this excessive focus on "private" character distracts from considering and encouraging public character, that is, the behavior of people in their role as public official. Having the president be both chief exec and Head of State makes it all the messier.