Editorial: Continued lies destroy credibility
According to The Associated Press, Rep. Gary Condit admitted to police that he had a romantic relationship with Chandra Levy, a federal intern, who has been missing since April 30. At this time police do not consider Condit a suspect in Levy’s disappearance.
However, Condit’s refusal to go public with his extramarital affair is a betrayal to his constituents and party, who support a candidate partially on their morals and their public persona.
The fact that Condit lied will be more damaging to his reputation and family because it directly relates to his credibility.
If he would hide an affair from police trying to find a missing person, then his peers and his constituents should question his honesty in his job as a congressman.
Elected officials should have learned from recent mistakes that lying about affairs damages the credibility of the elected official. Right or wrong, media coverage into “private family issues” will now plague Condit for his long silence about the affair.
“I think being a little bit more cautious as to feeding this media frenzy is something that the congressman has tried to do,” said Condit’s attorney, Abbe Lowell in a CNN interview.
This however, is not the case. Hiding the truth has only fueled the “frenzy” because the media now feels Condit has something to hide.
By lying about his affair Condit has done serious damage to his political reputation, and alienated his party and the voters of his district.
In the future it will be in his best interest to divulge any information his relationship with Levy so that he does not further take away from the job he was elected to do because his integrity is in question.
More Stories
Meet the Team
Oracle EditorProfile
USF gives it away in Memphis 34-33
At the half, a 14-point lead meant USF was on track to win its first conference game in over a calendar year. That energy was kept up even with under five minutes to go when the Bulls were up 33-20. Then USF watched as its lead went from comfortable, to slim, to nonexistent in the […]
Club teams missing competition, friendship due to COVID-19
Under normal circumstances, Grant Nolder, president of the USF flag football team would be preparing for the club’s biggest competition of the year, the Swamp Bowl. The annual tournament, hosted at UF, typically takes place during the fall semester and features some of the best club flag football teams in the country. Winners of the […]
Bulls battle with ECU in OT win
Coach Brian Gregory said Tuesday the Bulls didn’t play complete, 40-minute games in their two losses last week. It’s debatable if they did Wednesday night against East Carolina (11-18, 5-11) at the Yuengling Center, but it was more than enough to put up a 73-68 overtime win. “It’s funny. There were stretches where we played […]
First SG scholarship rewards student leaders
Student Government (SG) launched the first-of-its-kind, merit-based scholarship to students Nov. 5 on USF’s Tampa campus. As a part of Student Body President Britney Deas and Student Body Vice President Travis McCloskey’s platform, Bull S.H.I.F.T., — Success, Health, Innovation, Finance and Tradition — the SG’s Student Leadership Scholarship consists of two merit-based scholarships which will […]
On-campus Jabil institute sparks anticipation from students
A plan drafted on a bar napkin two years ago has now become the USF Jabil Innovation Institute, a multi-million dollar institute combining the College of Engineering and the Muma College of Business. Senior Vice President of Advancement and CEO of the USF Foundation Joel Momberg and Jabil CEO Mark Mondello jotted the idea down […]