This started as a reply to Average American in his Tribble article, but I think it qualifies as an article.

Who's missing the point here? To use your litmus tests (Would dad get pissed? Would I lie...) for selecting political leaders would populate government with more Incurious Georges or worse.

Free Thinker nailed it - would past indiscretions affect a person's ability to "simply do the job" and do it well? To make that assessment, voters need to conduct more than the impressionistic research and reasoning you advocate.

Evaluating what you perceive as indiscretions for character flaws that might impinge on one's ability to perform the duties of office is valid. As is evaluating them in terms of electability and that's closer to your tirade because it takes into account all the prejudicial, moralistic folks out there who condemn others for the human frailties they dislike in themselves. Anyway you cut it, that's projection and, while Rush, Billo and Sean are masters at manipulating their flocks with it, the process assures that people will cast their votes not for the best candidate but for the individual they'd most like to be.

McCain? The NYT expose' is less about sex than about his judgment - his chronic refusal to acknowledge that appearances are important in politics. McCain's a gregarious hale fellow, well found, but blind to the way appearances may hamstring his ability to fulfill his duties - Mr. Ethics, after the Keating affair (wherein he was found no less guilty, but a helluva lot more gullible - if not dense - than his colleagues) - cavorting with a female lobbyist at parties and on her client's private jet, then authoring unprecedented correspondence to a regulatory body on behalf of her client? Those letters may not have been meant to pressure the FCC decisionmakers but, nevertheless, the record shows they were interpreted by the decisionmakers as political pressure and interference!

The world is a too-dangerous place today to even risk our enemies sending up the balloon on the basis of our leaders' well-intentioned words or actions that give the appearance of a threat! In those circumstances, "I didn't mean it that way!" doesn't cut it - it's like you saying, "As for Obama's middle name, I used McCain's too. Does this cause a problem?"

I think you're out to lunch, BAA!

Hey - VoA, no more posting of graphics with an article?