Is adultery a "private matter"?

By now, I'm sure most of you will have heard or read about the New York Governor's recent extracurricular activities (or at least the recent exposure of them!). In his press conference, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said something that triggered memories of things that President Bill Clinton said years ago during his difficulties involving Monica Lewinsky and things that I remember Ross Perot saying even longer ago. Spitzer invoked an all-too-familiar sounding argument that politics is "not about the individual" but about ideas. And he initiated his press conference by referring to this ordeal as a "private matter."

Whether or not Spitzer resigns as governor is really beside the point. The thing that intrigues me is the stance that he took (and that President Clinton took, along with many others) that adultery or sexual immorality is a "private matter" and has no bearing on how an individual performs on the job.

Well, I say I'm "intrigued." I guess I'm actually disturbed. I believe that an individual's "private" life has a great deal of bearing upon how that individual performs on the job. To say that it doesn't is to say that personal character doesn't matter and that what really matters is results. As I've said before, I DO believe that personal character matters. I believe that it matters more than the results.

I remember, many years ago, hearing Ross Perot comment on the hiring practices of his business in Texas. He said that he always asked candidates for top management one question (a question that he would probably be sued for asking today): "Have you ever committed adultery?" He said if the candidate ever answered in the affirmative, he refused to hire them. His thinking was that if a person would cheat on the most important and intimate commitment of their lives, and compromise there, they would cheat on just about anything else and compromise in practically every other way.

I think Ross Perot had it right...not Eliot Spitzer. What do you think?