MovieChat Forums > The Ides of March (2011) Discussion > Morris didn't do anything wrong

Morris didn't do anything wrong


Really, he had sex with a 20 years old woman, a very mature woman who knew what was going on. Worst case scenario he betrayed his wife and he needs to get straight with her, but he didn't do anything wrong to the country, the sexual relationships of politicians shouldn't have be taken out of the personal context, even if the guy is a cheating bastard. The movie is amazing to expose the hipocrisy, the lines of Stephen saying to him something like "you can start wars, you can invade another countries and you can take soldiers to get killed, you just can't have sex with the intern" were amazing.

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He didn't do anything wrong? Are you kidding me? In your own words he is a cheating bastard. It wasn't a simple affair. The girl was a star struck intern, the daughter of a friend and colleague. He got her pregnant and set himself up to be blackmailed which he eventually was.

It shows he is an ego-maniacal, irresponsible, immoral, reckless liar. Do you really believe those tendencies would have no impact on his performance as president? The man has no integrity. When confronted with his own wrong-doing he plays chicken for a bit over whether the guy truly does have a suicide note.

He shows NO REMORSE whatsoever for the girl being dead, he is only concerned about his own career which makes him a sociopath. So he throws his friend off the campaign and takes the deal. Is this the kind of person we would want in the most powerful job in the world? No.

People cannot compartmentalize their behavior. If you are a scumbag in one area of your life more than likely you will be unethical in other ways. Gingrich and Clinton both are examples of this. In a country of 320 million people surely there are others that can come forward who would be better choices.

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you're completely wrong and the line you quote is completely right. Once elected, you can get caught getting a BJ if you're doing a great job leading the country. You cant get caught sleeping with interns while campaigning and then get elected, you simply cant just say ehhh so what, I banged a few interns, my own family and wife cant trust me, but YOU can trust me to lead your country!!

an opposing nominee would simply never let you live it down

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wholy *beep*..no wonder majority of Americans are retards.. even when there is crystal clear evidence that a politician is dishonest (not with them but his own *beep* family!) they STILL, still find ways to defend him. Newt Gingrich..story of the American Dream...I bet even Clooney himself would shake his head reading this crap thinking "what to do I gotta do to get through to these gullible morons?!"

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even when there is crystal clear evidence that a politician is dishonest


Boohoo, the president is a liar! Mommy, that man is a bad man! We can't trust him to do anything! Elvis Presley was a pedophile! I can't listen to his music!

John F. Kennedy was the ultimate playboy, sleeping with a random woman every few days (possibly even a sex addict). By your standards, he would have made a horrible president. Apparently that discounts everything he ever said or did.

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I don't think you understand.. if someone can't be honest with their own family, then how do you expect them to be honest with anyone else?
Theres really no such thing as a good politician. You can't be a politician, period, by not having some dirt under the rug. Sorry, if sounds ugly but its the truth.

And also by my standards, theres no political candidate that I care about or put my trust in. They stink of lies and I don't really think society needs them.

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if someone can't be honest with their own family, then how do you expect them to be honest with anyone else?


I don't expect anyone to be honest in those circumstances, frankly. Do you?

Wife: "Hi honey, I really miss you a lot."
Husband: "I'm sorry, I really do love you but the passion in our marriage faded years ago. We haven't had sex once in the past month. You don't even bother to make yourself up anymore around the house and I feel no sense of physical attraction towards you, even though I still hold you dearly in my heart. I yearn more than anything else in life to be in love again and to feel really passionate about someone. I met such a person during my campaign that made me feel young and alive once again. I still love you and always want to come home to you but I had sex with her a few times, sorry about that."

It just doesn't work that way. Sometimes adults hide inconvenient truths just to avoid hurting the ones they love. I'm not saying it's right, but to expect brute honesty in that sort of situation from anyone is holding them up to too high a standard if you ask me.

I also don't think a president can be totally honest with his voters. No president can go on a campaign about raising taxes and cutting spending to start balancing the budget to avoid a bleak future. Such a president simply couldn't get elected. By nature, us voters go for the people who say things we want to hear, and most of us are selfish and preoccupied with present problems and generally care little about the future. To find a nominee who says everything we want to hear, they generally have to fib a bit about what they're going to do. It's what has to happen when we hold people up to impossible high standards.

I also don't think it has dawned on most voters that most of the things presidential nominees claim to do simply can't be promised by a presidential nominee, since doing what they say they're going to do would require congressional support.

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My husband & I are that frank & honest with each other actually. That's why we have an amazing marriage. It's because we don't bury things. We are frank & honest with each other at all times. I lied to my husband 1 time when we were dating & my husband lied to me once and we both immediately broke down and told each other the truth. We were then able to deal with the issues at hand. Not telling your loved one something so you don't hurt their feelings is an excuse. Ppl like to say they're doing it for that reason, but they're really doing it to save face & not have to face the consequences of their actions. Stuff in a marriage doesn't get fixed if u don't talk about it. Him not telling her is not only selfish but also shows a lack a respect for her. I respect my husband enough to treat him like an equal, not some weak little thing that I have to protect like a dog or a child. Maybe if Morris had mentioned to his wife the times when he was starting to feel they were getting in a rut, they would've been able to confront that part of their marriage & fix it. But he didn't. Most ppl don't. Most ppl don't want to argue or rock the boat so they don't say anything until it's festered & turned bitter or in Morris's case gone to someone else to fix the problem. Maybe it's because my hubby & I were best friends before we dated. Maybe it's because I married my soul mate that I knew I was gonna marry the second I met him which I never before believed was possible, but was told to wait for that moment by multiple happy long wedded couples. A lot of ppl marry for the wrong reasons: pregnancy, family obligation, money, "security". It has to be harder to work on a marriage when you didn't marry someone for the right reasons. Maybe it's because I'm a military wife. My husband & I learned quickly how to communicate with each other clearly & respectfully no matter the circumstances or the wars & ocean between us. The happiest married couples I've ever met are the ones who are that honest with each other. Plus, when your married to someone you know when they're lying that even when they attempt to you get it out of them. Anyone who doesn't is lying to themselves & just doesn't wanna rock the boat. There's a way to be honest but tactful as well.

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I strongly agree with Bohdi once he gets caught to be as being a dishonest person he's going to loose a LOT of votes, it was almost certainly guarantee a loss of his being caught having knocked up a 20 year old.. and especially during elections, its ALL about the votes :(

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Seriously?

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Yeah but it wasn't just about the cheating stuff. In the beginning, he said he would never take the endorsement from Thomson because he didn't like him.

Then, because Stephen blackmailed him, he took the endorsement to avoid Stephen tattling on him about the affair and stuff, which proves that Morris did do something wrong after all!

He values the "power" of the presidency over his principles and his stand on the issues, and that's the way politics is. The politicians get jaded after time and lose their way.(Except Ron Paul of course)

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Guys, what exactly is the problem here? It's very simple, really. Just view the facts vs. perception.


Facts:

1. No all politicians are corrupted (since corruption could not be proven, this remains a fact for now). The fact that many of them are does not meant that ALL OF THEM ARE. As this movie illustrates, in Stephen's case, he didn't start out corrupted, but then resorted to it when he felt a bit too confident (why he accepted the meeting), then wronged (when fired) and ultimately betrayal when he finds out the real reason he was called out to the meet (either switch camps or lose his job), and further, that the person he believes in is an irresponsible cheating dickhead. It's not like the movie is showing that Morris is regretful of this, nor that he sympathizes with the girl's situation. He is clearly shown as a man with double standards; a hypocrite. Now, this may not be a fact, but hypocrites (while initially may actually have genuine and honest goals and ideas in favor of the country), will almost always justify the means by the ends, even if it means corruption. Such as shown, Morris didn't want the endorsement of the other guy because he didn't like him as he simply would sell his endorsement to the highest bidder (best seat on the house/or chair). Yet, he had no choice and succumbed to doing so as he was blackmailed by Stephen, who wanted Morris to hold up to his promises in his speeches. And the only way to do so is to become President. And Morris needed to be president because he believes that he can make a change for the better, and for the greater extent of the movie, is shown to actually believe in this. However, with all that, he still resorted to corruption (means) to justify his presidency (ends). Hence, a corrupted hypocrite.


2. Personal relationship don't always reflect a person's political potential or for that matter, the ability to stick to his/her guns and deliver on the promises. However, in the voters eyes, well majority of them, this is a moot point. Most voters don't cast votes by statistical charts, rather by intuition, and usually for those who represent their political views or, those who are swayed by the better/more convincing campaign. Personal bias, perception and scrutiny is, always was and always will be when it comes to public figures and celebrities. And this scrutiny does not skip over controversial matters that involve the personal life of the public or the celebrity figure. In the eye of the general public, it's part of the same picture. So that been said, yes, Morris may deliver on his words... and the fact that he cheated on his wife and took very little responsibility or ownership for the girl he got pregnant may have no bearing on the way he runs or will run his office. But... with all honesty, only a small select of voters and loyal people to him and his campaign will overlook this. As stated earlier a few times, the minute his intimate infidelity issues become public, his credibility in THAT public eye gets shot down so badly and so quickly that it's unreal. And that is the closest to a sociopolitical fact as you can really get here.

3. This is not a fact, but it's fairly obvious. Morris is not portrayed as what many will consider a 'good' person. Outside his public speeches and appearances, he is shown to be quite blunt, rude and egotistic.. and probably narcissistic to boot. Now, there is no fact that would state that he won't do a good job at office. However, in light of what we know of his personality, it is more likely that he won't hold up to his promises as he suggested in the movie. Why so? Because he already got away with 'murder' once and firmly believes that it had to be handled that way for the greater good... So his mentality is a such.. and probably won't change... Today a young girl.. Next year 200 soldiers....


You do the math..



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early in the film it was pretty obvious that morris was going to have some kind of flaw/dilema/incident that would show that he wasn't the man we all thought he was.

when it turned out to just be an extramarital affair with another adult, i was pretty let down. the only person who would have a right to be upset with this is his wife.

what one does in his/her marriage has no bearing on his/her ability to successfully perform their job duties.

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The affair itself might not be relevent to whether he'd make a good President, but the fact is, he let this incident rule his political decisions. He fired his campaign manager and picked a running mate he didn't like because of this incident. This is what makes him a questionable leader, IMO.

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