“being obsessed with personal shortcomings in our candidates means we throw out a lot of older, more experienced people, who have had time to make their mistakes, and learn from them”
Depends on the “mistake.” You don’t need a psychology degree to know the truth of this statement: 95% of people will never change, never grow, and never learn.
Using a person’s life decisions as a barometer to gauge their general “goodness” is not only a great tool for choosing candidates, but also - friends.
John Edwards made some mistakes. Do any of us believe that when he runs for office again (and he’s planning to) he will have learned anything? Advocation for treading lightly on flawed characters is contrary to wisdom.
I think you are misapplying the 95% rule…..fact of the matter remains, it is far more important how government allows you to live your life and walk out your faith than it does how elected officials live theirs and walk out theirs…and yet, many, including Freepers, are obsessed with the latter.
Each case is different, so I am generalizing….