So in New Hampshire yesterday, candidate Rudy Giuliani was asked about the difficulties within his family--his messy divorce, the fact that he is at least somewhat estranged from two of his children. A quote: "Giuliani has a daughter who has indicated support for Democrat Barack Obama and a son who said they didn't speak for some time. His ugly divorce from their mother, Donna Hanover, was waged publicly while Giuliani was mayor of New York. Giuliani has since remarried. Answering questions at a town-hall meeting, Giuliani was asked why he should expect loyalty from GOP voters when his children aren't backing him. "I love my family very, very much and will do anything for them. There are complexities in every family in America," Giuliani said calmly and quietly. "The best thing I can say is kind of, 'leave my family alone, just like I'll leave your family alone.'"
Hmmm. Makes sense to me. Giuliani's questioner wasn't so sure: "The questioner, Derry mother Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien, opened by thanking Giuliani for how he handled the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and introduced him to her 5-year-old daughter, Abby, who was playing on the floor next to the platform where Giuliani stood. Prudhomme-O'Brien, 36, wasn't certain about Giuliani's answer. "If a person is running for president, I would assume their children would be behind them." she said. "If they're not, you've got to wonder."
She said the issue is a question mark that is "going to stay there for a lot of people."
Hmmm. But should it? Many Democrats today still revere John F. Kennedy. But we know the family problems he had---he had endless affairs with other women, embarrassing his wife, Jacqueline. Many Democrats still revere Bill Clinton---the problems he caused for HIS family have been well-documented. Many Republicans still revere Ronald Reagan; yet he had serious differences with his son Ron and with his daughter Patti; and he was divorced.
Giuliani's problems with various members of his family are not new. They existed when he was mayor of New York. Yet it didn't keep him, not in the least, from doing a superb job as mayor--see the aftermath of 9/11. As a nation, in the past, as long as your family troubles don't keep you from doing your job, then we've given candidates a pass. Do we really want to change that now? And let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
