Dr. Olasky found that often a sexual affair dramatically changed the behavior of a president. Woodrow Wilson, for example, was an upright and moral man until he had an affair with Mary Hulbert Peck. He was successful in covering up the affair by paying her off financially so that he could be elected governor of New Jersey in 1910, and president in 1912.
But Wilson was never the same. He broke faith with the American people in three ways. In 1916 he won re-election with the slogan "He kept us out of war." But while he was campaigning with that slogan, he was preparing the U.S. to enter the war. Then he lost the peace by refusing to compromise with Senate leaders in adopting the League of Nations. Finally, he had a major stroke that left him unable to exercise his duties. But he chose to cover up the disability and allowed his second wife to effectively run the country for the last year and half.
Dr. Olasky said that "Adultery and its coverup contributed to a theological transformation in Wilson. He spent the rest of his life liberating himself from other commandments that he now regarded as suggestions." In a sense, once you are willing to lie about adultery, you are willing to lie about other things in public life. Unfortunately the two went hand-in-hand in the life of Woodrow Wilson.
I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.
© 1998 Probe Ministries International