The revelation regarding Bill Bennett's excesses, and the failure of conservatives to roundly condemn the sin (if not the sinner), are just another sign that conservatives are sliding comfortably into more and more seats of entitlement, from which they will exercise power without conscience or limit. The excesses for which conservatives once pillioried liberals now bear a right-wing label. Deficit spending is now a conservative privilege, as are foreign adventures. Perhaps it's just part of the cycle of American politics, whereby the Democrats and Republicans covet the other's position, and completely switch positions over time (have you noticed the Red-Blue states of the 2000 election are nearly the mirror image of the 1900 election?) In any event, conservative ascendancy is looking like it's going to be pretty toxic for everyone who doesn't fit into a privileged elite of one stripe or another.
Regarding Bennett, much of the damage he's done is within his own family. Excess wreaths itself in lies, which start in response to very basic questions: "I miss you, everyone's been looking for you, where have you been?"; "where has our money gone?", etc. The damage continues with denials of a problem, assertions that no material harm has been done to the family, and bogus promises to stop gambling, with the entire family acting as accomplices. His excess, evasions, and outright lies form a poor basis from which to expound conservative virtues of sobriety, reserve, and honesty, yet he still has many defenders on the right! Family values indeed!
Here's an interesting link regarding Bill Bennett's problem.
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