High morals expected of public officials

The Herald printed a column by Richard Cohen on Nov. 19 that asserts that character has nothing to do with sexual activities and that it is wrong for the media to call attention to a political figure's personal life - that what a person does in his private life has no bearing on his job. Cohen's primary example is Martin Luther King, who reportedly had numerous affairs and was still able to do his work promoting civil rights, while the media rightly ignored the story.

The writer is right to a point. I don't ask my plumber if he is faithful to his wife. But then again, my plumber didn't take an oath of office, and neither did Martin Luther King.

Ross Perot made the observation during his presidential run that any person who would break his marriage vows would break his oath of office. If you break a promise to the one person you vowed to love and cherish above all else, under the right circumstances, your vow to your country can be broken as well. Perot refused to hire anyone on his staff who did anything like that.

King was a private figure fighting for a cause. Public figures have a wide range of responsibilities with competing interests, and it takes a person of high character not to treat the various interests according to their personal benefits.

Larry Craig

Wilmette