Charles Barkley famously stated that he was “not a role model”. His point was that his behavior on and off the court that did not involve athletic performance was not an issue for others to criticize. As far as personal consequences were concerned, he was probably correct. Aside from advertising opportunities, supporters tend to be tolerant of about anything that does not land a star in jail.
I wish we could say more for our politicians – especially those who hope to lead and whose primary function is to represent the rest of us to the world. The patriotic values we promote so often seem to be poorly exemplified in the behavior of those who compete to be our leaders. Civil behavior, evenhandedness, respect, and humility are characteristics interpreted by too many as weakness or elitism,
Lacking the strength of character to admit you have been wrong is lately the trait that annoys me the most. Last night the wife of a candidate obviously plagiarized the speech given by the present first lady. This was apparent in the side by side comparisons offered by many news outlets and would make an ideal example for a classroom example. I doubt very much the speaker reviewed the previous speech and a lazy speech writer was responsible. However, supporters were quick to deny the obvious.
It is usually best to accept responsibility and not compound the consequence of an obvious inadequacy or failure. People do make mistakes. People do give speeches that were written by others. If the party line is to be above admitting mistakes, this is a sad value to promote. You are obviously not a role model we or our children should respect.