William Bennet, Paragon of Virtue

[BKM]

As an unrepentent lefty and thought criminal, I find the 6 million dollar gambling loss imbroglio funny as hell. What a pious fraud!

As usual, K-Man sums it up pretty good: http://www.kunstler.com/mags_diary7.html

oops. Million, not billion. Being a shill is not that lucrative!

 

[Jeff]

Don't you just love it when those who portray themselves as "holier than thou" screw up??

It would of been nice if he got caught with a hooker too...

 

[Wannaplan?]

Didn't he write a book on virtues? If so, isn't honesty a virtue? At least he fessed-up. The man makes mucho $$$ on the lecture circuit, so I'm sure his losses were small compared to his gross income.

How many of you have blown $100 or $200 in a matter of hours at a blackjack table? It's easy, it's fun, and if you have that kind of disposable income, then what's the problem? We all do it, and apparently Bennet can afford to, right? It's not like he's filing for bankruptcy - anyone who gets a receipt from a casino can claim their losses. That's all he did. It's legal and the forms are available on irs.gov.

 

[Downtown]

I too was hoping for the hooker. And although there is nothing illegal about losing 6-8mil on gambling, it doesn't seem to be very virtuous.

 

[Jeff]

I too was hoping for the hooker. .

I know one I can hook you up with if interested?

 

[Cardinal]

Here's a shocker -- humans have flaws!

Bennett is no different than anyone else. Perhaps he has a gambling problem. So what? It is not like he did anything illegal, cheated, or welched on his bets. He lost money gambling. He didn't get intoxicated, get behind the wheel of a car, and drive it into the ocean, killing somebody. He didn't sexually harass women and cheat on his wife. He bet and lost his own money, admitted it, and realized he has a problem.

Yes, he wrote a book on virtue, has advocated that people act appropriately, and that people take responsibility for their own lives and actions. I have met him, read his writings and heard him speak. He has never taken a "holier than thou" approach to his message.

I am reminded of a story that surfaced when Pat Robertson first ran for president. Somebody figured out that his wife was pregnant before they were married. His response? I'll paraphrase: "Yes. They made a mistake. Then they did the right thing." Although I could never bring myself to vote for the guy, I have a hell of a lot of respect for him because of this answer.

We all make mistakes. How we react to them is what shows our character. Throughout his political life, Bill Bennett has always acted with integrity. I do not see this as anything less.

 

[Chet]

This is a non-issue to me, but does proove one thing. The public expects public servants to live their lives to a higher standar that the general public.

Guess what? Most of us really dont. We stop for a beer after work, then drive home. Criminal!

We bounce a check once in a while. Criminal criminal!

God forbid we get a speeding ticket!

To each according to his means. So what if it was $6 million? It was within his means.

 

[BKM]

Michael: of course, you make an important point.

It is human nature, though, to laugh when the self-professedly virtuous prove their flaws.

The problem, Michael, is that this gambling is a long term pattern of behavior, not a single example of a "mistake." His apologists' arguments are not very convincing, either. Fellatio is not against the law, either, but even the biggest Clinton apologist (which I am not) would deny that the man was morally bankrupt.

And, when a man makes his career of being a moral scold, and that scolding is based on traditional "Christian" values, then the glass house/beam in your own eye factor comes into play. I feel little sympathy. (One could also question the morality of our entire revolving door substructure of "lobbying" and influence peddling-the source of a good deal of his income, but that's another issue entirely, and not by any means a purely Republican one)

 

[Greenescapist]

I thought this was a funny story, too. And I guess I hoped it would've been a little more egg all over his face, Jim Baker-style.

But, as Mike pointed out, he is only human and he never was an anti-gambling crusader. And he openly admitted that he can't handle gambling... his honesty is at least commendable.

 

[Wannaplan?]

Did he steal from others to make up for his losses? Probably not.

All of us make dumb decisions. Making dumb decisions is not un-virtuous. Making dumb decisions is just, well, dumb.

I too was hoping for the hooker. And although there is nothing illegal about losing 6-8mil on gambling, it doesn't seem to be very virtuous.

 

[BKM]

If he was a liberal democrat, he would be leading the parade!

But, by Christian morality, which Bennet and his ilk demand we live by, gambling-particularly out of control gambling, IS a sin. So, by his own standards, it is immoral.

bturk: The point is not that public servants in and of themselves are expected to live purer lives (heck, given the history of corruption in many cities, the population may expect less of us!). Its again that he has always been so pompous about it.

THAT'S what starts me chortling!

 

[el Guapo]

I find myself agreeing with Beaner - That makes hell indothermic.

Adding a midget hooker, a bong hit on tape with Marion Berry and somehow shaming Kathy-Lee Gifford would have been a nice touch if it could have been worked into the story.

 

[SGB]