Gone Too Far.

The Doser believes that the media have expanded a worthwhile privilege into an unwarranted license. The public has the right to know if a politician has his hand in the cookie jar. The public does not have the right to know about the private life of public figures unless it is shown that their private conduct directly effects their public performance.

And, on that point, every adult knows that telling one lie in one situation does not prove that the person is a liar in every situation. The way, therapeutically, you can check this out is this: Have you ever told a lie? Are you a liar or a person of principal? (If, of course, you tell yourself you've never told a lie, you are a liar.)

The way the media have gotten away with this canard is that we readers are so separated from the people they snoop on that we we have no personal feeling - or knowledge - that they are actually OK in most matters but were over-extended on this one.