DARING TO TELL THE TRUTH

It's hard to say what would have happened 10 years ago had Nova Scotia
cabinet minister Jane Purves held a news conference to disclose her
former life as a drug addict. But this week all it brought her was
applause, showing what a premium voters put on honesty.

True, it took the swirling rumours to push Purves to go public about
her battle with the needle 20-odd years ago, but at least she stood up
and took it in the chops. Contrast that with Bill Clinton's goofy
smoked-but-didn't-inhale dance, which garnered him nothing but derision.

The drug question has become standard stuff for anyone entering public
life these days. In the U.S., rumours of cocaine use have dogged
Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush for months. Democrat
Bill Bradley, seeking the same office, was asked this week by
television's Sam Donaldson if he had ever done drugs. I used to smoke
marijuana, said Bill, how about you? Um, a couple of times, said Sam.
Case closed.

Is it fair to delve into politicians' personal lives like this?
Bradley made this point: "I've always believed that people have a
right to know if you're a crook, but not if you're a sinner, since we
all are." Yes, we are, but voters still have a right to know what
kind of sinner they're choosing. If a question is important to them,
it's fair game.

And as the reaction to Purves's disclosure showed, an honest admission
of flaws is far better than the sin of prevarication.