Word: almost
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...These statements aptly define the attitude of a democratic society-particularly the U.S.-toward its leaders. The man in public life has a private life that is not exclusively his own. It is assumed that the people's right to know includes the right to know all, or almost all, about their chosen leaders: health, habits, character and foibles. The public's curiosity is insatiable, and often for good reason. If a politician behaves badly in private matters, he might act the same way in his public duties. That, at any rate, is the theory that has always...
...gets away with for a lifetime may destroy another overnight. Charles Parnell fell from power because of the honest love of a married woman, while his near-contemporary, David Lloyd George, remained Prime Minister of Great Britain despite many love affairs and several illegitimate children. As his son almost boastfully put it: "He was probably the greatest natural Don Juan in the history of British politics. To portray his life without taking into account this side of his personality is like failing to depict Beethoven's handicap of, deafness during the composition of his greatest works...
...President, in particular, is well insulated against excessively prying eyes. Warren Harding employed the Secret Service to keep watch over his liaisons in the White House. Franklin Roosevelt's affair with his wife's social secretary, Lucy Mercer, was successfully kept out of print even though it almost broke up his marriage. Washington gossips amused themselves with stories about John Kennedy's attentiveness to pretty girls; yet no hint of scandal emerged to damage his career...
...become damaging once they are matters of public record. Justice Hugo Black's brief, youthful membership in the Ku Klux Klan did nothing to shape his judicial philosophy; yet when Black's Klan affiliation was revealed shortly after his appointment to the Supreme Court, he was almost forced to resign. Nelson Rockefeller had a possible shot at the Republican presidential nomination in 1964. But he was removed from contention when he divorced his wife of 18 years to marry a mother of four, who lost custody of her children by choosing to marry Rocky...
...demanding more of politicians these days-possibly because they are demanding more of themselves. Since the new politician relies more on his "image" and personality, he must answer for their defects as well. And these are scrutinized more closely than ever by an omnivorous press. His flaws are almost always excruciatingly on display...