Gail Collins of the New York Times wrote a great column this week (here) that talks about how far back in a candidate's personal history voters should look when choosing who to vote for. She talks about Christine O'Donnell in particular, who is the Republican candidate for the Senate in Delaware. O'Donnell's infamous witchcraft statement came from a 1999 taping of the TV show "Politically Incorrect," where she said she dabbled in witchcraft in high school. When this statement resurfaced during this year's campaign, she made light of her comments and said at a GOP picnic, "How many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school?" She has a point, most people in government today did not plan their careers as far back as grade school. So where do we draw the line? Should a candidate's actions in high school affect whether or not you vote for them 20 years later?
I think major wrong choices, like felonies, should impact our decisions. But I also think that people mature as they get older, and we should not judge political candidates more harshly than ourselves. Most bad choices or mistakes politicians make in their teenage years and early 20's should be forgiven, because that is the time in life when people are exploring life, and taking chances. I am in that stage of my life now, and I hope I will not be judged 20 or 30 years from now for the things I have done in the last few years.
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