A headline in this morning’s Los Angeles Times reads:
Palin ethics lapse cited
The article begins:
ANCHORAGE — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin violated ethics laws and abused her power as governor in pressing to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, an independent legislative investigation concluded Friday.
I don’t believe in lapses of ethics. When John Edwards finally had to admit to his almost inconceivable dalliance with a videographer – in the midst of his pursuit of the presidency and the failing health of his wife – he called it a “lapse in judgment.” He might have called it a lapse in ethics or a lapse in morals. I call that horseshit.
A lapse of judgment arises from a question to which a reasonable person might have more than one answer.
Is it safe to pull out and pass this truck?
What color should I paint the bathroom?
Should I buy some new shoes or wait for a sale?
Paper or plastic?
We all are faced with countless decisions every day, for which we rely on our judgment. Everybody makes mistakes. But ethics – morality – is something deeper. It serves to inform our judgment, but it’s not the same thing. Judgment is behavior; ethics is at the root of it.
Should I be faithful to my wife or get me some extra on the side is not a matter of judgment, it’s a fundamental matter of character. So is whether or not to pressure another state official to fire somebody you’re pissed off at.
Sarah Palin has a fundamentally flawed character. It won’t get better. She has lapsed before, and she’s headed for a relapse now. It’s just a matter of time, and of which chair she’ll be sitting in when it happens. Heaven forefend that it be in the office of the vice president. God help us if it’s in The Oval one.
I live in a small town, probably not much different than Wasilla, Alaska. I would not vote for this woman for mayor. Why in the hell would you?
