Feingold getting a divorce. Will it hurt him?

[YEM]

Normally, I would say no, but this is actually his second marriage and we know how this country is right now. Anyway, wonder what this will do (if anything) to his President chances.

[Larkspur]

1. I suppose that depends upon the real reason for his divorce

If it is discovered later that he was having an affair, then his Prez chances are dead, but if not, then he still has a chance for the Prez nomination. It will depend upon how he frames his response to the inevitable question about his divorce.

[rodeodance]

2. there has never been a pres. candidate with 2 divorces. always a first

time I suspose. It was the major topic of discussion her in WI on morning talk show.

[YEM]

3. Probably not the way to start off a presidential run.

I'm not bashing him at all. I could care less how many divorces someone has, but he has to introduce himself to a good portion of the country and America likes to see a spouse by their side.

I personally think his candiacy is now dead.

[beyurslf]

4. Republicans will decry a divorced man running for president as immoral

and unfit to lead the country in these morally perilous times.

And pay no attention to those stories about Ron Reagan, Our Great Leader, God rest His soul, also being divorced.

[mpendragon]

5. 2x divorced, Jewish, liberal can't get elected in US '08

Feingold is my Senator and I've never felt better about voting for someone than when I voted for him but. . .

They hung McCain for adopting a child of color.
They hung Kerry for winning medals in Viet Nam.

They'll get Feingold on his personal life, his religion, and the PATRIOT Act. I'd love to have him as president but for now I'm rooting for Clark.

[powergirl]

6. HE COULD BE HOUSE SPEAKER LIKE NEWT!

I think in order to be qualified to serve as Speaker of the House, you must have multiple divorces, serve your spouse with divorce papers while she is in the hospital recovering from chemotherapy, and carry on an extra marital affair with a Congressional intern while lambasting a president about his personal life. Come to think of it, Feingold may not be qualified after all. :evilgrin:

[KharmaTrain]

7. No Matter What...If It's A Democrat It's Bad...

Nothing the corporate media and right wing hate radio loves more than a Democrat with domestic problems. While a Repugnican can gamble away his kid's education or have an affair with a staffer while accusing someone else of the same and so on...the deck is stacked and the "public" is accustomed to only looking at Democrats and "libruls" personal lives. The "reason" is since we favor open lifestyles our own private lives are open for more scrutiny than theirs since they prefer to keep their "morality" private. Yes, it's a lie and hypocrisy, but the lie's been spread so far and wide and for so long, it's now the base where any examination begins.

While this won't affect Feingold with many of the Democrats and Progressives that support him...and won't care about the reason, the media sure will pick up on this and as long as a (D) is attached, it's assumed this is Gary Hart/Bill Clinton/Gary Condit...no matter what the truth really is. Again, there's no reason, no balance and no responsibility.

Sadly, this gives the media a weapon on Sen. Feingold no matter what...not due to the divorce, but the timing. Any attempts to downplay it infers he has something to hide...any attempt to make it public opens the doors to all sorts of distractions and circuses.

[SoCalDem]

8. He will not the the candidate anyway, so probably not

I like Russ, but we all "know" he will not be the chose one, don;t we?:(