Campaigns & Elections - August 2007 - (Page 80)

the high road Tips for Toeing the Fine Line Between Employment, Friendship RICHARD LAND Q: Do journalists ever cross the line of becoming unethical when divulging personal information about candidates? A: Yes, they do. If it’s confidential tion. It should definitely be dealt with carefully and with complete transparency. information, and they don’t have the candidate’s permission to release it, it’s unethical unless there are extremely extenuating circumstances. For example, journalists should have divulged information about President John F. Kennedy’s extremely fragile health before he was elected. Given the nature of the presidency, the true state of a president’s health is an issue that the American people should have the right to know. Sometimes journalists also divulge personal information on the candidates’ family members. It’s part of the reason we have a difficult time getting people to run for political office. Journalists should use more restraint than they normally do. Q: A husband has worked for several years in a lower position in the state government, and his wife is elected to the state body that oversees his position. Is this unethical? Should he resign? A: It could be, but it needn’t be. If Journalists [are] part of the reason we have a difficult time getting people to run for political office. several ethnicities—but he has the right to describe himself however he wants to describe himself. Race and gender should only be used descriptively and not to evaluate someone for an office. We should strive to live in a color-blind and gender-blind society in which being described as an AfricanAmerican should be no different than being described as a redhead or brunette. Q: Is it ethical to have an age minimum to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate and executive positions? A: No, it’s ageism. Both people of Q: In the political arena, how are the categories of race and gender used to classify politicians? Are there any circumstances in which race and gender should be considered? A: A candidate should be allowed emerging age and people of advancing age certainly ought to be free to run for office. Ronald Reagan was 70 when he took office. That meant that he was older than Eisenhower when he left office. If McCain is elected, he’ll be 72 when he takes office. Q: Is it ethical for a politician to allow a personal friend to buy him or her dinner if the friend works for a company that may be interested in a government contract? A: It may be ethical, but it’s some- the wife is elected to the state body, she should perhaps recuse herself from overseeing his particular posi- to describe himself or herself as he or she wants to be described. Tiger Woods has been given flack from the African-American community for describing himself as a mix of thing that would be wisest to forgo. It could give the appearance of being a conflict of interest. Dr. Richard Land has served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission since 1988. He is the author of “The Divided States of America? What Liberals AND Conservatives Are Missing in the God-and-Country Shouting Match!” (Thomas Nelson, 2007). He has represented Southern Baptists’ interests in the halls of Congress, before presidents and in the major media. He has served three terms on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. 80 CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS 08.07

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Campaigns & Elections - August 2007

Cover Contents Editor’s Note Ames Straw Poll Cavalcade; Last Candidate Standing; The New Dollar-A-Year Guy; Web Videos That Can Change the Election Across State Lines: Campaign News from Around the Country People and Organizations Movers and Shakers: Ten Questions for Matthew Taylor and Philip de Vellis Campaign Consultant Sign-Ups Reel Time Cover Story: Building Blocks From Madison Avenue to K Street Money Can’t Buy Votes Dick Cheney: Roll Model for Millions Ames: Still Weird, Still Important How to Do Tougher, Quicker Crisis Management Online Cause-Based SocNets Lure Issue Voters The Great Exaggeration Why Primetime TV is Alive and Well, Politically Speaking Buyer’s Guide Tips for Toeing the Fine Line Between Employment, Friendship Managing Your Friend’s Campaign? Think ‘Consigliore’ Off The Record

Campaigns & Elections - August 2007

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