, Columnist
Conservatives' Message: Character Doesn't Matter
Trump’s political success reflects a cultural rot -- and deepens it.
What he says about you.
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Once upon a time, we called it “the character issue.” It was a major part of the conservative attack on Bill Clinton in the 1990s: He was a draft-dodging adulterer and therefore unworthy of the office of the presidency.
Most conservatives are making a different judgment about Donald Trump. He too avoided the draft, and he has even bragged about affairs with married women. But conservatives are supporting him.