How important is the character of the president when you decide to vote?

i realy couldn’t care less if my president was having affairs, as long as he does his jobs, that’s my greatest concern

Very important.

Character is very important to me, but there are many components to what we call “character”, and not all are equally important.

I want to see evidence of good judgment, the ability to accurately assess situations and people.

I want to be convinced that the candidate will put the interests of the country as a whole over those of him/herself or of any faction.

I want to see the humility to acknowledge the inevitable mistakes and change course, and to seek and heed good council.

I want to see compassion, the capacity to care about the welfare of those without power and influence.

I want to see foresight, the ability to understand the long-term consequences of actions.

I want to see courage, but not bravado.

I would be concerned if I saw a glaring conflict between a candidate’s public face and his private life, but I’m certainly not going to get overwrought about personal dalliances or other faillings that don’t impact matters of state.

It kinda doesn’t matter to me as long as they do a good job. I mean, after all, they are politicians.

I cringe whenever I hear from some of my family members that they voted for GW because he is a “nice guy.”

It’s not a popularity contest.

Seconded Harp’s response above-couldn’t have said it any better.

Funny to me how often people tend to agree with Scott Adams.

To my way of thinking, having questionable moral character but putting on a good public face just smacks of pure political gaming. That is, someone who is really good at saying what the majority of people think they want to hear, but who has no real integrity in his/her personal life.

And if you don’t think that personal integrity matters in your “real job”, well, nothing I write here is going to change your mind. But I submit that you’re wrong to think so. And I think you know it, too.

I tend to vote for a president who I feel has good character based on his stance regarding controversial topics like gay marriage, abortion, stuff like that. As well as his economic views, his world relationship views, and typically what he might contribute to the US. I’m not completely naive. I know that during the presidential elections there is a lot of smoke being blown and snake oil being sold and then when entering the office turning around and going back on what was said during the campaigning while in office (a very recent example being Obama). However what else do you have to base your vote on other than your personal feelings/beliefs/ethics and whether your candidate cooincides with them?