We do not hold our politicians to the same moral standards as children

My argument is this: politicians do break laws and commit immoral acts behind America's back. Everybody knows this - political and sex scandals do flood the history of American government. I am not denying that politicians are liars and cheaters or whatever. What I want to get across is that the reason we vote in politicians is because of their efforts to appear morally-sound. Despite chaos, the American political system still votes for the candidate that proves themselves more-moral. Confusing, I know - but what I mean is that, despite distortion, voters typically vote for those who appear better morally. Obama tried to appear as if he supported American equality by means of supporting gay marriage. Romney tried to restore traditional morals, religious morals, by means of disapproving gay marriage. Bush tried to appear as if he wanted to keep the American people safe no matter what it took, by means of war. Kerry tried to appear as if he was the one in favor of saving lives by means of avoiding or halting war. See a pattern here? There are two sides to the coin - and both try to appear more moral. Despite scandals, Republicans and Democrats try to come off as the moral party. Voters decide who they want for president - usually on a moral basis. Now, to argue your list of points. 1. Don't Hit Parents don't tell their children to just go around and start fights. Presidents can't just declare war; they have to have a good reason for it, and must get approval from congress. But parents do tell their children these three things - 1. Stand up for yourself. 2. Stand up for those who are being bullied. 3. Stand up for what you believe in. In war terms, standing up for yourself is self-defense if you are attacked. Standing up for those who are being bullied means aiding countries who are being suppressed by their leader or another nation. And standing up for what you believe in means preserving democracy. These are, in most cases, the reasons why war begins. Self-defense, suppression, and democracy are the reasons used to justify most wars. 2. Don't Lie For every lying politician, there is one that doesn't fib. But that is beside the point. Look, I know politicians lie. There is no denying it. What I am trying to point out is that politicians distort the facts to make them seem more moral. They attend church services and other religious ceremonies around election season. They model for pictures kissing babies, petting on dogs, etc. I know politicians lie. But my argument is that we vote on a moral basis, and for candidates that appear to have good morals. If they're moral conscience is poor or they have committed immoral acts before or during the time of office, then we don’t vote for them. We vote them out of office. We still hold our politicians to the moral standards of children – we expect them to have the same morals. And if they don’t, then we vote them out of office. We vote on a moral basis. We still hold our politicians to some moral standpoint. 3. Don’t Cheat This is an instance in which the morals of children do not compare to morals of politicians. Parents tell their children not to cheat off another child's paper. Politicians cheating involves money (millions), time (lots of it), and strategy. This two have nothing similar. However, there is one instance in which the two compare – and that is cheating in the sense of adultery. While parents inform their children to not commit adultery, politicians who commit it with unreasonable doubt are voted out of office – like recent San Diego mayor Bob Filner. Those who are running for office that get caught up in sexual scandals often drop out of the race – like Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. Sex scandals, adultery – aka cheating – are horrible things to get caught up in as a politician because they go against the moral majority of voters. Again I am stating that voters vote based on moral – the candidate that presents themselves as the most moral often wins the race. We still hold our politicians to some form of moral basis. 4. Don't Steal: You use taxes as an example of theft, as if America doesn’t consent to these taxes. This is quite wrong. America elects politicians that represent who they are – conservative, liberal, etc. Since no one runs on a campaign of eliminating taxes, this would not be a representation of the people. The constitution says that the government has a right to tax. Since the constitution was voted on by elected officials of the people, the people were willing to accept the taxes. They consented to the taxes, if you will. We still consent to taxes today – by voting for politicians who pledge to either raise or lower taxes. Not eliminate them entirely. 5. Don't Use Force against Others: The politicians that exert laws are elected by the people and are, therefore, a representation of the people. If one state wants to legalize gay marriage and another does not, then that would be a fair representation of what the people want. And parents teach their children to play fair. Therefore, your argument on this subject is invalid. My argument is that America votes on a moral basis – and, if a politician goes against these moral acts, than most of the time we vote them out of office. America expects some moral reasoning behind a politician – moral reasoning that are similar to that of a child.