In 1987, shortly after Gary Hart's announcement for his candidacy, The Miami Herald received an anonymous tip that Hart was having an affair with someone (Donna Rice), and the tip included the location (his townhouse in Washington DC) that Hart would meet the woman at, and around the time that the flight to that location for that woman would take place. Consequently, a team of reporters, following the tip's description of the woman found the flight she was taking and boarded the plane with her. That weekend, the team of reporters essentially stalked the young woman and found her and Gary Hart together at the townhouse. Following that, the reporters cornered Hart and asked him a series of unpleasant questions, and published a story on the whole affair a few days later. Naturally, it spread like a wildfire through the national media, and Hart (temporarily, at the time) suspended his campaign. He would eventually return to the race some months later, but after seeing his results in primaries, he withdrew from the race a 2nd time, essentially ending his chances of becoming President.
This scandal has raised a lot of questions about politics and the national media, specifically - when is reporting taken too far, and do scandals like Hart's really matter in terms of Presidential or political ability?
Sources:
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/1987/09/gary-hart-failed-presidential-campaign
https://www.unc.edu/~pmeyer/Hart/hartarticle.html
This is an interesting story about the ethics of reporting and what the American people do and do not have a right to know. It also could be interesting foreshadowing to the eventual Lewinsky scandal that surrounded Clinton's presidency.
ReplyDeleteThis was super interesting. It covers a complicated issue/debate over how much Americans should know or, rather, have the right to know. I think that this has interesting parallels with Bill Clinton's campaign and the publication of his affair with Gennifer Flowers.
ReplyDeleteNice post. It's interesting that these personal stories from politician's lives have always influenced their popularity and approval ratings. Gary Hart would have easily won that election had it not been for the scandal, so it may have been very influential in US History. He was a strong candidate with big goals for his presidency, but it was ruined by personal life.
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