We have here an example of the thing that bothers a lot of us greatly about politics these days…and it isn't just Trump. I'll quote an abbreviated version of this article…
Vice President Mike Pence has drastically lowered his moral standard for a President since Bill Clinton was in office, according to a Monday CNN report. In the late 1990s, he reportedly wrote two columns titled "The Two Schools of Thought on Clinton" and "Why Clinton Must Resign or Be Impeached," both outlining how Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and subsequent lies about it disqualified him from serving as President.
[He wrote] "In a day when reckless extramarital sexual activity is manifesting itself in our staggering rates of illegitimacy and divorce, now more than ever, America needs to be able to look to her First Family as role models of all that we have been and can be again." He reportedly added that it was Republicans' responsibility to remove Clinton from office, even if it cost them politically.
So now we have Trump with his many extra-marital affairs…and I guess someone might say, "Well, his aren't proven yet" but (a) they're as "proven" as Clinton's were when Republicans started calling for his resignation, (b) Clinton's didn't involve possible illegal payments of hush money and (c) we all know that Pence will never ever say Trump should resign or be impeached, no matter what. Even though that would make him the Most Powerful Man in the Free World, he won't say that.
What we have now is a climate in which principles matter most when you can weaponize them to use against their opponents. Obama foes were outraged one time when that president wore a tan suit. Trump could show up dressed like a giant otter and they'd overlook it or even say it showed great presidential concern for the environment or something. That's all moral outrage has become — a way to hammer the opposition. There are only three possibilities here…
- Pence never really thought it was immoral for the President of the United States to have an affair and lie about it. He just said that to try and harm a Democrat.
- Pence thinks it is immoral for the President of the United States to have an affair and lie about it but he'll keep quiet about it because his party's interests are more important. Or…
- Pence's views on this have evolved and he now doesn't think it matters if the President of the United States has an affair and lies about it. In which case, he should say so and apologize to Bill Clinton.
Have I missed any possibilities? I don't think so. And, true, this "selective morality" has long been a part of politics but it's never been this bad or this obvious before.