B I CHRONICLESnGary Hart has withdrawn to the seclusionnof his Rocky Mountain home,nclaiming that the nation’s press, led bynthe Miami Herald, invaded his privacy.nDonna Rice, an aspiring actressnsuddenly in the limelight, is spendingnmost of her time denying to any reporternwho will listen that there wasnanything immoral in her relationshipnwith Hart. The national media, for thenmost part, is treahng the rise and fall ofnthe onetime front-runner as if it werennothing more than a morality play.nYet the Hart debacle raises issues farnmore serious than whether or not GarynHart, or any presidential candidate,nhas ever cheated on his wife, and thenpress’s proper role in reporting this.nThe ramifications for national security,nfor the American family, and fornthe AIDS epidemic should be takenninto account as we approach electionnyear.nFormer Senator Hart first attemptednto play down the furor over his reportednliaison with Ms. Rice with wannhumor. He told the audience at a NewnYork fund-raiser on May 5th thatn”After the past few days, I’ll look forwardnto negotiating with Mikhail Gorbachev!”nHow does he know he hadn’t been?nThe reason why British Defense SecretarynJohn Profumo and West GermannChancellor Willy Brandt were drivennfrom office was not because their extramaritalnaffairs had offended puritanicalnelements within their countries. Rathernit was because their questionablenconduct had exposed them to the possibilitynof Soviet blackmail. Like ournMoscow embassy, they were compromised.nThe Hart organization displayed annaive disregard for even elementalnconsiderations of security. By theirnown admission, attractive youngnwomen were interviewed for campaignnpositions one afternoon, spent thatnnight in the home of high-rankingncampaign officials, and were admittednCULTURAL REVOLUTIONSnimmediately to the closest circles surroundingna would-be Commander innChief All this on the basis of whatnMr. Hart himself called “only a casualnrelationship.” How can we expect anteenage Marine at our Moscow embassynto be on his guard against KGBnentrapment when a presidenhal candidatensets such a casual example?nOn the domestic front, there isnprobably no issue as important as thenAmerican family. Our staggering welfarenbill is stark testimony to its decay.nBill Moyers interviewed a young, singlenman named Timmy and wasnshocked to discover that he hadnfathered six children — two abortednand the rest, with their mothers, onnwelfare. The number of Timmys,nyoung men ready to father childrennbut unwilling to be a father to them, isngrowing in direct proportion to thendecline of respect for the institution ofnthe family.nLike all candidates. Hart presentednhimself as the consummate familynman. He kicked off his campaign surroundednby his smiling family. As thenpressure mounted for him to explainnhis relationship with Ms. Rice, it wasnhis wife who went on nationwide TVnin his defense. Yet the life-style revealednby the press showed a man whonpreferred to spend even his leisurentime outside the family circle.nThe question here is not primarilynone of hypocrisy but of a need fornleaders who not only believe in thenfamily but exemplify it in their ownnlives. The road out of the ghetto runsnthrough the family, not the welfarenoffice. The leader who, by precept andnexample, teaches the Timmys of thisncountry respect for the family will benoffering the hope of a better life tonthem, their consorts, and their illegitimatenchildren, besides helping to balancenthe federal budget by reducingnthe number of singletons on the welfarenroles.nThe flip side of the family issue isnnnthe allegation, always implicit, ofnadulterous behavior. This has by andnlarge been handled by the press as annarrow and not overly important questionnof Hart’s personal morality. Yetnhere again there are larger issues atnstake.nThe specter of AIDS, called by PresidentnReagan our number one publicnhealth problem, has raised the stakesnfor premarital and extramarital sex.nSurgeon General Koop and Secretarynof Education William Bennett bothnagree on the need for abstinence or fornstable, monogamous relationships asnthe primary means of combating thisninsidious disease.nThe issue is not what former SenatornHart did or didn’t do with Ms. Ricenduring the evening in his townhousenor the night on board his friend’snyacht. Let us take Hart at his wordnwhen he protests their innocence. Thenissue is rather the impression made byna presidential candidate when he casuallynengages in such encounters.nValues are as often “caught” as theynare taught. Is the Hart example likelynto strengthen or weaken those patternsnof behavior which alone can controlnthe spread of the AIDS epidemic? Arenyoung people, who consciously or notnlook to our leadership for what isnpermissible and what is not, more ornless likely to avoid a promiscuity whichncan kill?nEvery saint has a past, and everynsinner has a future. America is not innthe business of electing only paragonsnof virtue for its highest office. Butnwhere epidemics, such as AIDS, ornsocial breakdown, such as a decay ofnthe American family, or foreignnthreats to the security of the nationsnare present, then the President mustntake the lead in confronting them, notnonly in words, but also in deeds. Thesenare the issues of the late 80’s, thensuccessful resolution of which will gonfar towards ensuring the future health,nwelfare, and security of the Unitedn