Are candidates judged too much based on their private lifes?

@egr134 (192)
Argentina
January 27, 2008 4:03pm CST
When it comes down to public relations, almost everything means an obstacle. Should this type of defamation be prohibited?
2 responses
@danzer (2723)
• Philippines
27 Jan 08
Private life profile and data is just one area where candidates are being judged by the voters. It's not a hidden fact, it's practiced in every country with election!
@egr134 (192)
• Argentina
27 Jan 08
Yes, but sometimes it seems only a competition of "who can hide their past better". For example, here, in Argentina there are sometimes candidates who represent the interest of a large community, but when the other candidate's group looks for something bad in their rival's past and then they publish it, it doesn't seem too fair. At least in Argentina there is always an economically weaker side that "looses" in this competition.
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
29 Jan 08
It's a never ending battle with slinging mud. I think that candidates ARE judges too much on their private lives, specifically when it comes to religion. Now, if a candidate choose to bring up his/her religion in a debate or public setting on the campaign trail, then they have just allowed it to be out there for public scrutiny. However, if a candidate doesn't go around talking about their religion, I don't feel that they should be attacked for what religion they follow. People like Huckabee...should be attacked for it, quite frankly (and I'm a Christian) because every 5 seconds he mentions it. He may think this is going to get him the Christian vote, but unfortunately, it will only gain him the vote of uninformed Christians who vote based on the candidates religion in the first place. However, other candidates, who never mention their religion or their personal beliefs because of their religion, shouldn't be probed and asked about things like, whether they believe in evolution or creationism. That topic has nothing to do with the candidates ability to run a country. The only "moral" issues that should ever be brought up are abortion and gay marriage, and those should only be brought up because they directly affect American people.