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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 15, 2001
Gov. Jeb Bush probably should have continued to ignore the persistent -- but entirely unsubstantiated -- rumor that he was having an extramarital affair with Cynthia Henderson, secretary of the Department of Management Services. Still, not even a highly public person such as the governor should have to quietly tolerate widespread gossip that is so hurtful to him, Henderson and their families.
So Bush used a Monday appearance to dismiss the rumor as "an outright lie." Unless someone comes forward with hard evidence that contradicts the governor's unequivocal statement, that should be the end of the story, such as it was.
The Clinton-Lewinsky scandal reaffirmed that most Americans consider the personal lives of their public officials irrelevant -- unless that personal behavior directly affects an official's public performance. Unfortunately, the years of the Clinton presidency also were marked by a coarsening of our political culture. Organized right-wing critics of the Clintons spread rumors that the president was a murderer and a drug trafficker, and that Mrs. Clinton was a lesbian. And of course, Clinton disgraced the presidency and gave ammunition to his adversaries through his personal misconduct in the White House.
The rumors about Gov. Bush gained steam not long after Florida's bitterly contested presidential recount finally ended and Bush's brother replaced Clinton in the White House. Given that context, the rumors always sounded more like Democratic wishful thinking than anything to be taken seriously. Bush surely knew he would be giving the rumors more attention than they deserved by addressing them in public, but his desire to defend himself and his family is understandable. He says he will talk with his family about his job's toll on their private lives before deciding whether to seek a second term.
No one should be driven from public service as a result of idle gossip. Democrats and Republicans alike have been the victims of such smears -- and Democrats and Republicans alike have done the smearing. Given the problems facing Florida and the rest of the country, people on both sides should get their heads out of the gutter and start paying more attention to the issues that really affect people's lives.