In 2008, New York Governor David Paterson called a press conference to admit to an ethical mistake. Years earlier, he confessed that he had several affairs while he was married to his wife. Some people said that his honesty was a display of good ethics. Others wondered why he chose to put his mistakes on display. When it comes to politicians and political candidates, which issues should be private, and which should be public?

In a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, U.S. adults were asked about their likelihood of supporting a presidential candidate based on different traits. One of the survey questions asked about the likelihood of supporting a candidate if they had an extramarital affair in the past. Below are the responses.

• 58% said: It wouldn’t affect their likelihood of supporting the candidate.

• 37% said: Less likely to support the candidate.

• 3% said: More likely to support the candidate.

• 2% said: Don’t know.

Option 1:

How many U.S. adults said they would be less likely to support a candidate who had an affair in the past?

A. about one in two

B. about one in three

C. about one in four

D. about one in five

Option 2:

In the same survey mentioned above, 20% of respondents said that they would be less likely to support a candidate who has used marijuana in the past, and 74% said it wouldn’t affect their support for a candidate. Based on this information, were U.S. adults more tolerant of politicians who used marijuana, or of politicians who had extramarital affairs? Explain.