There has been quite a bit of focus on Rudy Gulliani's private life recently. Three marriages with one ending quite acrimoniously and an apparent poor relationship with his adult children, who have stated they will not be campaigning with him. But should any of this matter?

In the long run, no, it shouldn't matter at all. The only reason the media bring it up is for the sake of giving Gulliani a negative look throughout the competition, but they do this all the time with everyone. The media sure isn't picky. They made an article about Laura Bush accidentally killing someone, the whole Clinton/Monica incident was horribly blown over, and it just goes on and on. It's up to the public to decide if Gulliani is fit to be president, not because of current things happening in his private life that could or could not be his fault.

I agree, it should not matter. The media always tells a negative story, because it makes them more money. People will always listen to the media, so naturally their votes will be affected by the negatives. In my opinion, either the candidate with the least stories about his negative life, or the one with the most positive feedback from the media will win the election.

That's the problem with listening to the media, in my opinion. Though they are supposed to be unbiased- there are many who do have a certain side and want someone to win or lose in the elections. Getting media coverage has always been the best way to promote a candidate or to utterly ruin them.

Well the past is the past, as long as they don't commit the same errors again we'll be good. However, if these private matters are currently happening they do matter.

Let's say a politician was running for State Treasurer and they were just fired from a large firm due to stealing. Would you really want that person as treasurer? If they can't be honest at their job, why should you trust them as State Treasurer?

Present private matters do matter in my opinion. However, we should also overlook minor faults, for example if that person got a ticket the other day for running a stop sign or something we shouldn't automatically jump to conclusions and say they are irresponsible as we all make mistakes. We instead should focus more on any serious faults they might have committed recently.