With another campaign in full swing and Americans beginning to weigh the candidates against one another, some voters look will look beyond Al Gore or George W. Bush's stance on issues such as abortion or gun control and cast their votes based on character instead.

Just how important is character? Some might say it's not as relevant as a candidate's voting record or proposed policies, but in an age where oral sex and the president are mentioned in the same sentence on the evening news, others argue it's time for our leaders to set a moral example for the rest of the country. Does character matter above all else? And if it does, how do we measure and judge character? Is character found in one's values or in one's sex life?

On One Hand...

More than anything else when electing our national leader, character counts. If we can't trust a person to uphold his marriage vows, how can we trust him to uphold the oath of the Constitution? The president must be someone with a certain character, someone who can be trusted. When confronted about the Monica Lewinsky affair, it took President Clinton seven months to finally come out and admit that he had an "improper" relationship with her. The country deserves a forthcoming and truthful leader, not one who is a master at manipulating the truth. The president must set an example for all Americans, both in his personal life and his public life.

On the Other Hand...

A candidate's and a leader's ideology and where he or she wants to lead the country is the most important aspect in determining who should be president, not character. What the media calls character today can be boiled down to sex and drugs. Did Clinton inhale? Did George W. Bush do cocaine? How could Clinton think he could get away with an affair with a 21-year-old intern? Who's that woman with Rudy Giuliani? Character is far more complex than an extramarital affair or drug experimentation. What matters is policy and action. Yes, Clinton did a deplorable thing when he carried on with Monica Lewinsky. But under his administration the country has seen a record economic boom, extremely low unemployment and welfare reform. Franklin Roosevelt had a mistress but brought the country out of the Great Depression and led us to victory in World War II.

And being true to one's marriage (or monogamous) is no indication of broader, more important areas of character. Richard Nixon was faithful to his wife but broke the oath of his office, authorized criminal break-ins into his opponents' headquarters and was the first president in history to resign, leaving the office in total disgrace.

Notable quotes about presidential character:
• The people "have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge—I mean of the character and conduct of their rulers." John Adams

• "Character is the only secure foundation of the state." Calvin Coolidge

• "With all the power that a President has, the most important thing to bear in mind is this: You must not give power to a man unless, above everything else, he has character. Character is the most important qualification the President of the United States can have." Richard Nixon

American Civil Liberties Union, Cato Institute