Today is the birthday of Gary Hart, who turns 85. He’s one of my favorite politicians. In 1987, this former senator from Colorado was one of the candidates to lead the Democratic Party in the US presidential election the following year.
His speech announcing that he was embarking on the race is an archive to review. Then 50 years old, this boomer represented a new generation in Washington. A visionary, Gary Hart was already talking about the threats of terrorism, the dangers of unchecked political financing and those who would certainly leave Detroit for Silicon Valley. These ideals allowed for hope and were fueled by a quest for opportunity for all.
All the polls placed him ahead of the other Democratic candidates and above all, ahead of George HW Bush who, after eight years as vice-president, finally wanted to become Commander in Chief.
Still in a relationship in 1987 and until last year when his wife died, Gary and Lee Hart had previously had two separations. It was well known enough that Gary Hart could, in broad daylight, be accompanied by companions at social events in Washington. Like other politicians before him, he was not immune to rumors and had by then earned a reputation as a swagger.
Very shortly after his nomination, the Miami Herald published a portrait of the star candidate suggesting, in the title, a possible relationship with a resident of Florida. A few days later, the tabloid The National Enquirer featured a photo of this young woman, Donna Rice, sitting on Gary Hart’s lap while the two were on a boat named Monkey Business. It has become an iconic cliché of the fallen politician.
It was the start of a media circus and American political journalism had just changed forever.
During a press briefing, after the articles in the Herald and of theInquire, a reporter asked Gary Hart if he had ever been unfaithful. What’s the idea of asking such a question? What happens between two consenting adults is irrelevant to voters. But the tide had turned and the privacy of politicians had become, alas, fair game.
Therefore, 35 years later, the effects of this shift are still wreaking havoc in politics and elsewhere. Expectations of public figures are often beyond comprehension. They are asked for perfection as if it were the quality necessary to succeed. And we end up with the almost obligatory passage of the biography – often tasteless – of future candidates revealing to us, in their own way, deviations from the past to control as much as possible the story that could sink them.
They still have to be brave enough to start the race, despite this kind of interference in their private life, which is now permitted.
And voters, here and elsewhere, will have to get used to the idea that a very good husband can make a very bad politician and that the reverse is also possible. Same for the candidates.
Angry at this type of intrusion, Gary Hart warned that one day, Americans would find themselves with the politicians they deserve.
Hart quit the race for the Democratic nomination. He knew well that no journalist was going to want to speak about his ideas of tax reforms or those on fairness and social justice. In announcing his withdrawal, Gary warned of a new journalism that would make the media hunters and candidates prey.
Today, media coverage of American politics often borders on that reserved for entertainment. It’s a toxic slip. We talk about candidates as we talk about Jennifer Lopez, she who has made a profitable business model out of her private life. The formula of the singer, sometimes actress and entrepreneur, is simple: from the first date with the new suitor to the new ring on her finger, through the purchase of a new house and the wedding ceremony, JLo ensures constant visibility in the media. And it’s his choice. But the candidates no longer have the option of discretion.
Gary Hart has never confirmed or denied having an intimate relationship with Donna Rice. Later, we will learn — following reports in 2014 and then in 2018 — that the case Monkey Business had been set up by fierce Republican strategist Lee Atwater and Dana Weems, an acquaintance of Hart, who was also on the boat. “I regret having ruined his life. I was young and I did not know that the sequel was going to happen like this, ”said Dana Weems to a journalist from the New York Times.
Given the influence of American politics on Canada, we are very concerned about this kind of journalism, which also has the effect of eliminating the political contest of people who have public service at heart, the competence and the ideas to get things done, but who may not be strong enough to see the worst moment of their life become the epicenter of conversation about them. Gary Hart recalled another principle of great importance: “character is judged over a lifetime, not over a moment”.
Despite everything and for the moment, I am reassured to see that in Quebec, the political press has not fallen into the practice of exposing the intimate lives of our candidates and elected officials, despite a flourishing tabloid industry. And I don’t think we voters would accept that. Here is another thing that we do better than the others.