"Man of Good Character!?"

As the Super Bowl approaches we often hear remarks about what makes a champion great. Obviously talent is always first on the list, followed by being a team that plays together, a team that never gives up, and the catch all phrase a team of great "character". What does that ambiguous word character mean? Walter Payton was said to be a man of good character, Lou Gherig was another man said to have character to be admired. What are those traits which we either laud as being good or condemn for being bad or weak. Honesty is usually at the top of the list when we speak of character, we like honesty "Honest Abe", a great nick-name for a politician; we all want our leaders to be honest and up front in their dealings and we all would like to trust their words as "gospel". Courage is another trait that we like to see in a man of character, the ability to stand up against threats without fear, and have the willingness to face troubles without whining or blaming others for their own problems. As we look at the past, at our founding fathers, what type of character did we see these men exhibit? Most of them were prosperous with little to gain by taking the risk of upsetting the British "apple cart", yet they believed in the rights of all people to have a voice in their government, regardless of their station in life. Their "yes was yes" and their "no was no"; they were what they purported themselves to be. As we look at our modern leaders what character traits have we seen exhibited? Richard Nixon revealed a paranoid fear of those who were different from him and his philosophy, fear to the point that he had Americans labeled as enemies. Woodrow Wilson re-segregated the military because of his belief that black people were inferior to whites, not exactly a great character trait in anyone let alone the President of the United States. U.S. Grant, an unabashed drinker who allowed lobbyists to virtually run America. Wow what would Jefferson say so far!? William Jefferson Clinton, I don't know where to start, he had the morals of an alley cat, and was accused of giving untruthful testimony under oath while in office, not exactly a "Boy Scout". Recently we have seen revelations about John Edwards, a former senator and a man who was once considered "presidential timber". After a long silence we have heard allegations of deception about an affair with a campaign worker, a pregnancy, and an elaborate cover up. This type of behavior is not limited to any political party, it is a cancer that has spread throughout our contemporary leaders. Lies, deceptive practices, and false image are now the order of the day from our current crop of politicians. When will we stop allowing "Image" to take the place of good character? I blame the media, they don't do their job when it comes to finding out who our potential leaders really are, they have bought into the "Image" and forgotten about the character that is behind the face. As we approach the next election we need to examine the character of every candidate with microscopic accuracy. We may think we're getting Lincoln and end up with something much different. America it is time to look beneath the "Image", KNOW THE MAN!