Politicians aren't perfect, but they should be closer to it than the average citizen, policy and ethics experts say.
Elected officials are often held to higher standards, and they should be, if only to restore the public's trust in government, political watchers contend.
But no one is perfect, they add, and the criminal and financial missteps of those running for office should be tempered by their remorse and the severity of their mistakes.
"Public officials are held to a higher standard, and they should be because we are paid by public money and we work for the public," said Peggy Kerns, the director of the Center for Ethics in Government in Denver. She also is a former Colorado House representative and city councilwoman.
"That said, we are all human beings, and many of us have done things in our background that don't match those standards," Ms. Kerns said. "I think that disclosure of those things, and honesty around any of those incidents, is really important. We all change and grow older and wiser."
According to polls, voters are less interested in candidates' personal backgrounds than they are in issues, said Chris Carr, the vice president and general counsel of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a nonpartisan research group that focuses on state policy issues.
"People are just getting tired of negative campaigning," Mr. Carr said. "Nine out of 10 voters want to know how a candidate votes on the issues. We want to know how they feel about taxes and education and water issues. It takes away from the public-service aspect to have negative attacks."
Usually, negative background information is generated by candidates' opponents, not the media, Mr. Carr said.
"It's one thing if negative background is coming from the candidates themselves," he said. "It's quite another to have the media say, 'Here are our candidates. Here's what (we) found."'
Experts seem to agree that remorse is important in getting the public to accept a politician's troubled past.
"There are certain things that are so egregious that you can't place trust in that person, no matter how much they're reformed," said Ed Jackson, a senior public service associate for the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government. "There's no hard and fast rule on this, though. It depends on what the person did, who was hurt and has the person shown remorse. It's just very difficult."
The Vinson Institute holds seminars for elected officials to help them become more aware of the role ethics plays in government.
"What generally happens is someone who has not had money is in a position of political power, and it gets very easy to make a little error in judgment, and then another and another," Mr. Jackson said. "You never sit down and say, 'I'm going to get money to do this,' but over time they add up, and it becomes easier each time to go beyond what is ethical or legal."
Admitting to their crimes and money troubles is a necessary part of regaining the public's trust, said Larry Pellegrini, a longtime lobbyist and the public policy director of Georgia Rural/Urban Summit, a political policy group.
"Bottom line: Whoever gets elected, citizens have to speak through those people," Mr. Pellegrini said. "So, voters are most comfortable when they know everything about the person. Whether they feel they are perfect or not, they still ought to know."
"Public officials are held to a higher standard, and they should be because we are paid by public money and we work for the public." - Peggy Kerns, the director of the Center for Ethics in Government
Reach Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 823-3215 or heidi.williams@augustachronicle.com.
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