Breaking news from the front of the War on Drugs. Man tries marijuana AND cocaine, goes on to lead successful life. That’s right, despite what the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign and the incredibly flawed War on Drugs scream at you, drugs do not turn you into a crazed, high-seeking junkie.

For those of you who have no clue why I’m talking about this, David A. Paterson, the new governor of New York, is doing something which is leaving the media flabbergasted; he’s telling the truth. Paterson has come forward and admitted that he and his wife have both had affairs during rough patches in their marriage, and he recently affirmed his history of drug use which he admitted to while he was lieutenant governor. When the reporter, Dominic Carter, suggested to Paterson that he might change his answer now that he is the actual governor, Paterson responded with incredulity saying, “there is only one truth, and that’s what I told you.”

I applaud you David Paterson, for not being afraid of being a human, for having skeletons in your closet and for not shirking away from your past. The media is hypersensitive to politicians involved in sexual scandals and in their drug history, portraying them as catastrophic failings of character. Womansavers.com reports that 22 percent of men have reported being unfaithful at least once in their marriage, just as the ONDCP reports that more than 10 percent of the population has admitted to using marijuana in the past year.

Obviously, statistics such as infidelity and drug use are going to be difficult to accurately assess due to the illicit nature of the activities, but even the reported statistics show that both adultery and drug use are not rare things. However, the media’s rabid reporting of these vices in politicians treat them as though they are crimes which somehow remove the ability of politicians to govern. Like so many other American traits, we somehow manage to hold conflicting views simultaneously — we accept that our politicians are probably lying to us and may indeed be involved in crooked business practices, but we bring out the tar and feathers as soon as the word “marijuana” is brought up.

Personally, I’d rather have a governor or president who’s diddling the help and puffing the reefer while telling Big Business to take a long walk off a short pier. Why are we led to believe that minor drug use and sexual wanderings constitute a lack, absence or loss of political ability? Governor Paterson’s frank admissions of being an American in the ’70s should surprise no one; indeed, it should elicit cheers for honesty and openness, things severely lacking in government.

The government-spread lies which constitute the War on Drugs combined with the holier-than-thou approach of the media effectively create an atmosphere where minor offenses of a largely personal nature are examined and held up as proof of moral decrepitude while an administration can drag us into a illegal and unneeded war while presiding over the biggest economic “slowdown” (read: recession) in decades due to lax oversight of unscrupulous businesses.

This sleight of hand has got to stop, and Gov. Paterson’s admissions of his humanity may be the first step. The media has played a willing accomplice for too long, giving us a dog and pony show and celebrities in various states of compromise while the Powers That Be continue to give average Americans the biggest shaft since Peter North.

Paterson’s admissions begin to draw back the curtain – drugs do not lead directly to a life of crime and suicide and infidelity happens, for better or worse.

It’s time we quit focusing on the minor character flaws of our elected officials and started paying attention to the egregious assaults on our civil liberties and pocketbooks.

– Quincy Miller is a senior in English from Altoona.