Perhaps Jackson could so easily offer absolution to the president because Jackson was breaking the same commandment. He says he has asked God, his family and friends for forgiveness and their prayers. That, of course, is between Jackson, G-d, his family and his friends. True repentance is a beautiful thing and no one is above the temptation to which Jackson has succumbed. But as a very public man who has been one of Bill Clinton's chief defenders and organizers of support within the African-American community, Jackson's incredible hypocrisy deserves at least as much scrutiny and comment as that given in the 1980s to fallen television evangelists Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker.
Most people expect clergy to practice what they preach.
Jackson has frequently spoken to groups of young people, urging them not to engage in sexual activity before marriage and pleading with them not to father or mother children out of wedlock. Thankfully, the woman Jackson impregnated was pro-life, at least regarding this child. He says he loves the child he recently fathered, which makes one wonder if others might not come to love children conceived in difficult situations if those babies were allowed the privilege of their endowed right to life. None of us has control over the circumstances of our conception. Jackson's defense of President Clinton was part of the web of deception that surrounded the president as he sought to avoid impeachment and then conviction by Congress.