Does Character Count?

In politics, we have asked this question many times, especially in every presidential election since 1992. My answer to the question is a resounding YES!

Linda McMahon, running for the Senate in Connecticut, addresses this question head-on in the following ad:



Earlier this year, Connecticut Attorney General and Democrat nominee Richard Blumenthal came out in a press conference that he lied about his service in Vietnam and makes no apologies for it. It is very unfortunate that a politician will use the military for political expediency and this does speak volumes about his character. It insults those who have served, those who have faced the fire and those who have given their lives to the country. McMahon's ad speaks volumes and gets the viewer thinking what else he will lie about, has he lied about and what bonds of character will be broken that Richard Blumenthal gets his way.

The big push these days in education is "character education." One such organization, Character Counts, discusses the six pillars of character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. Blumenthal, who in the Senate would be a leader, and as a leader, youth and his constituents would be looking up to him, attempting to emulate him. By lying about Vietnam, he breaks every one of those character pillars and not only lets down anyone attached to the military, he lets down those who would vote for him in Connecticut. Any non-politician by lying in a job interview (which, technically, a political campaign is; just elongated) would lose out on a job, possibly future jobs and their reputations. Let's hope the voters hold not only Richard Blumenthal, but other candidates, to that same standard come November.