You're Cheatin' Heart

This week the CBS Evening News continues its series 'Primary Questions' where Katie Couric asks the presidential candidates what makes them tick. Wednesday's topic is the issue of infidelity. In each interview, Couric asked the following: Some voters say they don't feel comfortable supporting someone who's not remained faithful to his or her spouse. Can you understand or appreciate their point of view? Their answers are as follows:

HILLARY CLINTON: I think there's more to someone's honor and integrity, and to their public service. I think sometimes we confuse the private and the public in ways that are not necessarily-- useful. On the public stage-- there are a number of people who have accomplished great achievements on behalf of our country who might have some challenges in their personal life, but have made a great contribution.

JOHN EDWARDS: I think the most important qualities in a president in today's world are trustworthiness-- sincerity, honesty, strength of leadership. And certainly that goes to a part of that. It's not the whole thing. But it goes to a part of it.

RUDY GIULIANI: Sure, I can. The only thing I can say to people is I'm not perfect, you know? And I've made mistakes in my life. And-- and that-- not-- not just in that area. In other areas and I try to learn from them so I don't repeat them. I mean, it comes from growing up as a Catholic. I mean, we're all sinners. We're all struggling. We're all trying hard. We ask for forgiveness, and then we try to improve ourselves again. And I've-- relate to other people that way. Relate to the world that way.

MIKE HUCKABEE: I can. If-- if you violate the promise that you made to the one person on earth to whom you're supposed to be closest to, and this vow was made in front of your families, your closest friends, and God, and you don't keep that, then can we trust you to keep a promise that you made to people you don't even know? I don't think it means that a person can't be a good president. Nobody's perfect. Nobody. Me-- anybody else. We all have flaws.

JOHN McCAIN: That's an area that I never get into. Because I think that people make judgments, and I'm not very good at that. And so, I think it's up to each person's personal view of the individual, and-- and everybody has a different view.

BARACK OBAMA: Public morality and private morality are not equivalent. And I think that there has to be some space for privacy [in the private lives of public officials]. I'm very cautious about applying strict moral rules to people. What I'm always hopeful of is that people judge our public servants based on their passion, their commitment, their public integrity, how they operate with that public trust. And if we start getting too sanctimonious about some of these issues then there aren't going to be that many people who are able or willing to serve.

BILL RICHARDSON: If you're not faithful to your wife, you're not faithful to the country, to your ideals. You're not faithful to the spirit in which Americans trust their political leaders. And they expect them to have a sense of honor. But, you know, everybody sins. And-- and it's whether you're forgiven, whether you forgive yourself, whether you have faith in God. You know, perfection is-- is something that politicians, they should not stand themselves for perfection. Nobody's perfect.

MITT ROMNEY: I'm not gonna give advice to the American people in which aspects of a person's life they look at. After all, the president of the United States is gonna be under a microscope. He will be. The first lady will be. The whole family will be. Every mistake will be open to the world. In some respects you represent an example to the children of America. So we're gonna get looked at in all sorts of ways. And I'm not gonna try and counsel the American people as to what to look at.

FRED THOMPSON: Everybody's gotta make up their own mind about that. I think that you can evaluate a candidate any way you want to. So, nobody's perfect. Everybody has weaknesses and has made mistakes one time or another in life. But everybody's gotta decide for themselves what they want to consider that go into making up. The leader is going to have to deal with these problems of the country.

JOE BIDEN: Look, this is really dicey territory. Let me say it this way. I think that one's character, one's honesty, one's integrity-- is a habit of the mind. I don't think people can be-- dishonest in one aspect of their life, and compartmentalize it and be viewed as being honest in other parts of life. If the tendency is not to tell the truth, the probability is, that in a moment of crisis, where that person's interests are at stake, they're likely revert to the bad tendencies.