People make mistakes. It happens. (Note: the definition of mistake does not mean intentionally hiding thousands of dollars on your tax return.) The American public is faced with a constant trickle (or sometime barrage) of public officials and celebrities who make big mistakes. We’ve seen how different people handle the situation, and I have to say that coming clean is the best way to handle it. Let’s look at some examples:
1. Eliot Spitzer: Governor of New York. Suspected of being a client of a prostitution ring. Two days after the news breaks, he announces his resignation and apologizes for the grief that it causes his state.
2. Barack Obama: Wins presidency. Two days later, apologizes for doing so. (Only in dreams. For real example, see #3)
3. Barack Obama: Wins presidency. Nominates various people to high positions in office. Many of these nominees turn out to be tax cheats. President Obama announces to the American public, “I screwed up.”
4. Rod Blagojevich: Governor of Illinois. Accused of all sorts of stuff, including the sale of Barack Obama’s vacant senate seat. Even with the mounting evidence of audio recordings, fights the accusations tooth and nail calling the process “unconstitutional.” He is impeached with a unanimous vote.
Which of these three people do I respect the least? Blagojevich. Not so much by what he did, but how he responded to the problem. It’s pretty obvious he’s guilty, yet he went on national television time and time again and made himself look like an idiot. Even if he didn’t want to admit that it was true, he should still have the decency to resign as governor so his state doesn’t have to get dragged through the mud.
A co-worker once told me a funny story about his only child. He said, “My favorite is when I approach her about something and she says, ‘But Dad, it wasn’t me.’ I look around and remind her that she’s an only child.”
The first way to rebuild a reputation is by accepting responsibility for your actions.
Last 3 posts by Mark
- I lost and won my first election - March 23rd, 2010
- Seriously?! - February 17th, 2010
- Current Government Flowchart - January 29th, 2010
Good point Mark. Few people disgust me more than Spitzer and the hell he put Silda through, however I guess there is something to say about the way he handled it, vs Blagojevich.