News Jul 30, 2009 at 4:00 am

Forgive or Forget

Comments

1
Thank goodness your Churchill or queen Victoria did not take the same stance when faced with overwhelming opposition. Your lack of a spine reveals to me why we were able to kick British butts (like yours) during our Revolution.
Your shallow musings would gain more traction on the Weather Channel methinks.
2
The desire for character, honesty, integrity, ethical behavior in our leaders is exactly the reason for the Recall. Your "forgiveness" will only continue to reinforce the corruption and poor judgment that has been occurring.
3
Why don't you forgive and forget Bush and Cheney Matt? Same principle at work right?
Yes, I was angry ____ for the repeated lies he told this newspaper. And yes, I suppose I was upset that ___ asked the young man to lie about ____.
Effing bloody hypocrites.
But that's OK too, since we can just 'forgive and forget.'
4
"Was that before or after Breedlove's felony conviction for shoplifting, I wonder?"

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=breedlove+shoplifting…

Wonder no more my, skilled journalist friend! For through the magic of this inter-net, I have determined that it was indeed well _after_ the Adams affair that this took place.

Not that it matters. I don't give two shits about Adams consensually humping/not humping some borderline-legal stud. I'm more concerned with the whole "being-a-shitty-mayor" thing in general. Case-in-point would be his attempts at vote trading with Ted Wheeler over the Sellwood Bridge, but his overly-zealous Merritt Paulson cheerleading also concerns me. There's a lot to choose from and none of it good; sort of like an Old Country Buffet of civic mismanagement.

I think the recallers are off-base by focusing mainly on the Breedlove incident. It had a lot of legs at first, and does provide good evidence of Adams' predisposition to lying, but most people are more apt to accept lies where sex is concerned. The fact that he then used his lies to attack rival Bob Ball is more troubling to me.
5
I love that some people actually think that anything our mayor has done is on par with Nazi Germany by the time the English got around to exchanging Churchill for Chamberlain. Seriously you know what the Germans did with their bathrooms right?

You people are ridiculous and so is the recall. They aren't going to get enough signatures because everyone has realized spending 500k on a recall is stupid. I mean they are 1/4 of the way through the gathering process and they only have 4000 signatures. They should have double that by now at least if they have any chance of actually making it.
6
Yeah Breedlove had a shoplifting conviction how is that related to what Adams did? When a homeless person is victimized are you going to start reporting on their shop lifting convictions also? Will they be less worthy of our sympathy if they have a less then perfect arrest record?

Adams is a lying, narrsistic, bully and you know it. Your apathy is disheartning and your unneccesary jabs at Zussman and Breedlove are pathetic.

7
Finally, the professional arrives. Have fun with it Matt. I am going to take this opportunity to retire to the quiet confines of questionland. Not a total flounce, but I am done posting on Adams stories unless Jasun pops back up in these forums. This recall is probably dead, Jasun's pitiful plea for attention yesterday made that clear enough to me.

I posted my first impression in January on the Oregonian that “Sam should stay assuming the investigation finds he did not break the law. He should have never had to respond to a question about legal sexual conduct. I don't blame him for lying.” I still feel the same today.

I would not even call myself a huge fan of Sam Adams, I voted for him, but the option was ridiculous. The thing that pissed me off was the way the recall tried to claim the high ground, and then just kept lowering the bar. Jasun said in February he would pull the plug if this thing was 'subverted by people with a political or social agenda', I guess he changed his mind.

I hope Sam learned something from this. I expect him to be a bit more chaste going forward; not that he can't have sex with dudes, just that they should be age appropriate as long as he holds elected office. I don't think that is too much to ask, he is a smart guy and I am sure he regrets giving the haters an opportunity.
8
My GOD, Matt, pull the left-leaning crock out of your mouth and realize how BIASED you are. If this were a republican with an underage intern you would be banging on an iron pot from the tallest fir tree calling for a lynchin'.
9
I'm glad you're willing to put away your lightsaber, Matt. Some Jedis know when to come together instead of slashing and burning the way to the destruction of the republic.
10
D: Equating Adams to George Bush/Dick Cheney is as spurious and outright laughable as the entire recall farce going on right now.

Nice work, Mr. Davis!
11
Matt, it appears that:

1. You're taking the easy way out,

2. You're playing devils' advocate,

3. You want to be contrary to WW, O, etc.

Forgiveness is one thing. But forgetting this matter in order to avoid the unpleasantness of a recall is a cop-out. It's our job to hold our leaders accountable for their ethical transgressions; otherwise they will continue to believe they can get away with corrupt behavior.

Sam will forever be tainted by his handling of this situation. No one is to blame for his lies, cover-up and smears but he himself.

Although we may forgive him as a person, we will not so easily forget his unethical behavior and will always question his character and veracity as a political leader.

Please rethink your reasoning and your decision. This is an opportunity to stand up to politics as usual and hold our elected officials accountable.
12
Sam's supporters often resort to name-calling because they can't offer a legitimate defense of his unethical actions. Even Matt Davis resorts to cheap shots at Potter, Breedlove, WW, Gordly and Zusman in his rationalization of why Adam's should be forgiven.

Sorry, but not liking the messengers doesn't change the message: Sam needs to be held accountable to his constituents for violating the city code of ethics and the public trust. You can't give him a pass just because you like him and/or dislike his detractors.
13
I am totally on the fence on this one.

On the one hand I don't believe Adams was immoral or unethical regarding his sexual conduct, even if Breedlove was a few weeks younger than the legal age limit. The age limit is arbitrary, and I see nothing wrong with an age gap in a romantic relationship. The social conservative buzzards are expected but still annoying, and I don't want to give them any more fuel.

On the other hand, the lying does bother me. I share the sentiment with littlebeirut about the questioning. It sucks that we live in a society that is so interested in that stuff, and it sucks that our society would likely have judged Sam Adams negatively if he had told the truth. However, he did lie and used the lies to smear Bob Ball. It just rubs me the wrong way when I think about it, especially as Bob is also gay.

Maybe telling the truth would have been a step forward for the gay community, just like Bill Clinton admitting he inhaled marijuana would have been a step forward in the drug legalization movement. It is those who stand up for their ideals that change the world for the better. "Yes, I had sex with Beau Breedlove, and I loved every moment of it. Next question?"

The stuff with the Paulson family is also just plain jaw-dropping to me. It seems like something a hardcore Republican mayor would do and is 180 degrees opposite of the Portland ethic. Where is our green industry? Instead, we are subsidizing the profits while taking all the risk for the family at the forefront of our economic collapse.
14
What did he do wrong? Really?!? Have you taken a history course? Is it that offensive? Breedlove is not that naive. He took advantage of Sam's power. Who's been posing naked on magazines?
15
Matt. I forgive you. And I forgive littlebeirut for calling me a homophobe for commenting on the Leonard- Adams-fawning-psychosexual-soulmate problems, which poor Leonard is trying to explain away with churchy grandmotherly metaphors, tears welling up in his eyes and all..

And I know you, too, chose a side, but I'm thankfully not very convinced that you chose a side that favors three more years of this.

Or, heaven knows, I might find it harder to forgive you.
16
Yea, put me on the side of "forget it".

The guy is indeed a disgrace but I am not supporting the recall either.
17
That might be one of the more hypocritical pieces of writing I've seen in the past two years from the Mercury.
18
I just read this piece and, realizing that it is so not politcally correct, would like to offer this: you are retarded. Your logic/reasoning is ridiculous. You're an idiot. I'm sure you're not from here. Well I am. I'm a native. I wish you'd go back to where you came from, because again, you're retarded and an idiot. If Sam Adams wasnt a gay man in uber pc portland, he would have been gone a long time ago. How can argue that we should just forgive our leader for the lie after lie after lie is beyond me. Go away.
19
Hey, Williamette Weak, stop obsessing over the Mayor's sex life, you buncha fucking perverts!
20
I love this logic, "he's a gay man in uber pc portland."

So you're saying that in Portland it's better for your career, reputation, etc to be a gay man? So by the same logic its better in Portland to be black, lesbian, latino, or whatever other minority you insert under the dotted line? Since when was being in the minority an asset? Last I checked Portland was still pretty WASPy. I don't see that being a gay man anywhere in America gives you a better chance at advancing your career no matter what your career is.

The premise is that Portland won't recall because its so PC so they must sign the recall to prove how not PC they are. I'm baffled.
21
Can we officially retire the "News" section from the Merc now... please?! Just change to "Local" or "Opinion" and I'd be happy.
22
The only thing that's ridiculous is the notion that we should ignore this liar and 'forgive' him for no reason other than to just 'get on' with our lives...

Recall Sam Adams for his lies, his self-serving political spin, his waste of taxpayer money on exhorbitant pet projects, his cowardly and willful blindness towards the plight of our homeless,

Portland deserves leadership they can trust, not just another politician who we know will lie to us. Allowing politics as usual is what has been destroying our country, and the last 8 years is the best (and worst) example.

I would think you'd know better, Mr. Davis.

Please wait...

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