Did Bill Clinton use bad judgement?

[JudyM]

99. No, actually the point is that there should not be a double standard, and that is exactly what

your argument mandates, whether you realize/acknowledge it or not.

I was one of those who outright celebrated when Scalia died. Went out and had a drink with a lawyer friend and was openly delighted here on DU. Not just because it was the death of a staunch rethug Supreme, but expressly because of his open violation of legal ethics, and the great harm that that did this country, e.g., installing Shrub and generally lowering the bar on public accountability.

The fact that you think that "everyone's doing it" is the basis for an ethical standard is actually alarmingly disturbing, if you can see that... and it is precisely what Sanders' supporters find so abhorrent in our existing political system.

You are entitled to your views, of course, but they are symptomatic of a deep problem in our democracy, problematic to those who believe so many of the country's problems are due to inappropriate discounting of ethics, to their personal financial advantage. Congress crafts policies to protect its donors. NRA. Big Oil. Wall St. Etc.

Psychologically, "everone's doing it, so can we" is a phenomenon called "social proof" and has been demonstrated to cause a great many problems including widespread ethical lapses, such as those that caused the '08 crash. The evolutionary biology and neuroscience behind this is fascinating, in fact. I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in the back end of how we *really* make decisions: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10865206-the-willpower-instinct