A/O relationship affair thread...

I don't deal with the polician on a daily basis.

I think it's just a matter of practicality.

We don't have that many choices when it comes to politicians.

There are often only two contenders for a position on the ballot. If I have to choose between one who has had an affair versus one I disagree with on the issues, I have to choose the one who has had an affair.

I also believe that we as a society don't and shouldn't legislate morality, so I don't necessarily need to agree with a candidate's moral choices.

I think it's because people base their interpersonal relationships on things like trust, like mindedness, integrity, etc. People base their relationships with politicians on their policies and what they plan to accomplish in office. It's easier to overlook the affairs when you are looking at someone for something so different.

For me, I can forgive cheating in my personal relationships AND my political relationships. I don't judge people based on the worst thing they've ever done--I judge people based on the whole package. That's true of everyone.

Because people are hypocrites
Many people on that affair thread are probably christians too and I'm sure there's a story with Jesus and the adulterous woman
In 2016 you don't stone them, you just give them the cold shoulder at the game

Well first, I don't know if you can say someone is "not moral" if they've cheated. Morality is based on a lot of things IMO, not how one behaves in one situation. I think everyone at some point in their lives has done something they shouldn't--whether they are a moral or immoral person shouldn't be based on that one thing. That's how I feel.

As far as how I would reconcile that, I would reconcile it but considering that the person is hired to do a job and as long as they do that job, then that's all I care about. It's a bonus when they're what I consider a good person (and cheating doesn't negate that), and that I like them, but it's not a necessity. It's like the relationship I have with my manager at work. She's a great manager--she's fair with me and the other employees, guides us when needed, keeps us informed--all the things a good manager should do. If I found out somehow that she was unfaithful to her husband, does that matter? It doesn't change that she does what she's supposed to do for me; it only impacts her relationship with her husband, and that's not my business.

That

I'm kind of the opposite. I have a good friend who cheated on her husband. I didn't like it or condone it, but I'm not throwing 40 years of friendship away because of a period in her life when she was making bad decisions. Honestly, at that point, she really needed a friend. A politician holding him/herself up as a family man/woman being busted as a cheater? I have zero use for that person. Doubly so for those who want to legislate others' morality. In fact, there is a special place in hell for that last type.
I suppose I can more easily find forgiveness for those who mean something to me.

I agree with this.  For me, when I know someone, I know their heart.  I know if they feel guilt or regret.  I can absolve them of a mistake if they seek forgiveness.  Politicians are so slimy most of the time.  I expect them to lie, steal, and cheat.  But if they are holding themselves out as a moral figure and pandering to a conservative base I have very little compassion for them.  I see them as being holier than thou, until they get caught.  I have no respect for that fool. 

You are pretty amazing...what a lovely perspective...

Yes, but DUI, rape, child molestation, thievery are all crimes. At this time, adultery is not a crime. It has been in the past but we as a society have chosen not to legislate this kind of morality anymore (may still be in some states, for all I know, but I doubt it's enforced because who would want to?).

I don't think people let it go because they believe the victim somehow "deserved" it. I think it's because most people realize the flesh is weak, people stumble and pick themselves up again, and most likely a much larger percentage of married people than we ever know about do cheat at some time or another, but don't get caught or leave their marriages.

So most people, understanding human frailty, accept it and move on, if the situation doesn't affect them directly. I know that I am less than perfect (not cheating related!), and I don't have the energy to decide whose moral failings are acceptable, and whose aren't.

Finally, I think you may well be wrong that adultery doesn't happen in a magical character vacuum, in many cases, anyway. Like it or not, cheating on your partner seems to be in a class of its own. Plenty of people who have affairs wouldn't dream of cheating on their taxes, robbing a bank, beating their wives and children, stealing from their business partners, etc. Some may, for sure ... but I don't think they go hand-in-hand. The evidence is all around us.

I feel like I know that politicians are sleazeballs and not people that I want anything to do with..and there is a 100% chance they aren't going to ruin our friendship by trying to blow my husband.