Private Lives,Public Officials

Abstract

Answering inquiries about his personal life during the 1988 campaign, media-appointed front-runner Gary W. Hart invited the press to “put a tail on me” to prove his innocence in any moral wrongdoing while away from his wife, Lee. The subsequent stakeout and discovery at his Washington, DC townhouse introduced the issue of marital infidelity to the contemporary American electorate. Thus a new dimension was added to the intense media scrutiny that candidates must endure to retain front-runner status. In 1992, Bill Clinton's front-runner standing was threatened by allegations of marital infidelity involving a disgruntled former government worker. Just as his polling figures began their drop, a shift in the political climate seemed to occur as attitudes changed via the media. This study considered each candidate's ascension to front-runner status and his subsequent fall by applying principles found in the Payne et al. confirmation paradigm. A content analysis of national and local newspapers, including examination of text volume and tone, was conducted to determine stages in each campaign's history.