European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 9, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday May 9,1987 Tom Wicker Hart s lapse gets More attention than it should was it bad judgment for Gay Hart a presiden tial candidate already rumoured to be a Womanizer to conduct himself in such a Way that he might appear to have spent a night with a woman who was not his wife of course it was. Is the question of Hart s judgment in this instance a matter on which the american people ought to decide whether he should be president no. Judgment is an Overall and nearly intangible qual Ity that does not rest on one misguided decision or one mistake or one moment of thoughtlessness Many a person of excellent general judgment has been guilty of All of the above. A president for example who visits a nazi is graveyard or a candidate who confesses to lust in my heart does not always and invariably Lack Good judgment. There1 plenty of time Between now and november 19e8, taking into account Hart enviable record of Public service to decide whether he is a Man of reliable judgment. The juror Over the Hart incident is not really about hit judgment anyway. It s about his alleged sexual behaviour. Nor is press and Public interest in this Story limited to the question of Hart s discretion or Lack of it. In � mostly focused on what he did or did not do with a Beautiful Young woman from Miami. Is that then an Issue on which the voters ought to decide whether Han should be president perhaps if they think he and she Are lying when they say that nothing sexual happened lying to the american peo ple whether about ran soming hostages with arms sales or about sexual liaisons would be sufficient grounds Cor Many american to oppose a president or anyone who wants to be president. It s unlikely however judging by the few known facts that anyone will be Able to prove that Hart or Donna Rice is lying. And if no one can prove that they Are King Many americans wit be charitable or fair minded enough to give Hart the Benefit of he doubt even considering past questions about his age and Hii name change. The surveillance imposed on Hart by the Miami Herald was not after All infallible and Many innocent americans if staked out by hidden watchers might appear to be doing something they should to it s True that americans Are entitled to know everything Rele vant about those who seek the White House but thai does t make secret press spying or eavesdropping on them not in search of criminality but in Hopes of to Tuiuri revelation permissible in a decent society. Nor Are the apparent fruits of such distasteful surveil William f. Buckley Lance necessarily valid a number of press executives when questioned about the propriety if any. Of the Herald stakeout at Hart s House pointed out that in the past reporters would tacitly ignore drunkenness or sexual peccadilloes by Public figures. But now they add with an air of righteousness the press does t do that anymore. In deed not and it should to but that s a Long Way from justifying secret surveillance stakeout and spying even on a presidential candidate. Suppose moreover that Han did have a sex Ual relationship with another woman was discovered and admitted it. Would that necessarily disqualify him for the White House Many americans would say yes and would have a right to vote according to that conviction. Others however might feel that private relation ships Are private or should be and May Well exist for reasons neither visible nor reprehensible or that other considerations in any Case far outweigh private acts that some consider unseemly or immoral " it is not apparent to me for example that the moral leadership and worldwide Impact of Martin Luther King were diluted by his private life. Nor is it apparent to me that the private life of Hart whatever it May be is More important or relevant to the Choice the voters will make next year than his views on arms control the Economy International Trade and Competition hit Gen eral competence and experience or any number of other issues of real magnitude. Yet the minute Hart turned to such issues in Hii speech to the american society of newspaper editors the Cable news network Cut him off the air. That May be smart news judgment but it s the wrong focus one shared by Loo Many newspapers and broadcasters that preen themselves on Public a Wynel in trying to destroy it. We need in addition to Day and night Laboratory work appropriate social policies. Rep. William Dannemeyer it Calif writes to advise that he will introduce the aids confidentiality and accountability act of 1987. This Bill supplements . 344, introduced earlier the first Bill would require blood testing of Federal prisoners and of immigrants. The second Bill would require the so Stales to test i persons seeking a marriage License 2 persons convicted of prostitution 3 persons convicted of intravenous drug use 4 persons Between the Ages of 15 and 49 who Are admitted to hospitals and 5 persons being treated for venereal disease. In California writes Dann Itneyer it is Legal to report to Public health authorities carriers of syphilis infection. But it is illegal to report to the same officials carriers of the aids since syphilis is curable and aids is not Danny Meyer finds the regulation anomalous. If you wish perspective on the aids problem he will give it to you it would seem Odd to report that California has a Law designed to punish physicians and others who report the virus without the consent of tit. Individual if it weren t so unbelievable to report that up until recently in new York City testing for the virus was illegal no one was allowed to test physicians labs Public health officials in Confidence or anonymously no one no the reason for this of course was that when the disease was first identified it was accepted Asaf Felting uniquely homosexuals and drug addicts. Al though the incidence of the disease continues heaviest among these groups it is now endemic. If it is not quite yet the Case it soon will be that heterosexuals Are numerically the largest afflicted group. The television news Over the weekend told of a High school class tested for aids that revealed four Stu dents suffering from it. These students did not contract the disease from their parents children who do generally do not live to High school age. Now As the disease Universal izes the earliest fears of Sigma Bizalion via testing Lessen. Thus Colorado recently passed a Law requiring testing in hospitals and in sex relate d clinics. There was opposition to the Law but the opposition is apparently being dealt with by arguments that a peal to coloradans without reference to race Creed color or sex Al inclination. Or. Franklyn Hudson co author of the Colorado sys tem said recently a few Gay men will argue that Colorado s legislation threatens their right to privacy that testing should be Anonymous rather than confidential that aids virus infections should nol be re ported to Public health authorities and that All we need to control aids is More Money for education in my View this is an irresponsible and irrational reaction to a deadly infectious disease. It confuses an attack on the aids Sims with an attack on individual liberties. "1 would Challenge the american civil liberties Union of Colorado to report to us what serious civil liberties violations they have documented As a result of the state Board of health s re portability Rule what violations they expect to result from enactment of the Colorado legislation and How they weigh these hypothetical violations against the hundreds of coloradans who have died from aids and the thousands who will surely die in the future he added. The doctor s Point is Well taken but the Dan Nemeyer Bill omits mention of the principal agent wailing in the wings to do the useful thing. It is of course the insurance companies. Now there Are to quarrels Here. The fint is should insurance companies be free to deny coverage to those who test positive Lor aids but put that to one Side and ask Only should the insurance companies require such a test and where positive findings Are recorded. Should Public health officials be advised of those find Ings with the charge that they be kept confidential but that sex partners of the afflicted should be advised that is what the Public health agents asked for a year ago and what Dannemeyer and the Congress should give us. A Urr Vail Prasi s
