Let's say you're a governor or president, and there's a scandal in your administration.

[PlanetaryOrbit]

Note: This is purely hypothetical; it's unrelated to any political scandal in real life.


Say someone in your administration embezzles millions of dollars from the governmental budget, accepts huge bribes or kickbacks, or commits some flagrant abuse of power, or causes some other scandal.


As governor or president, you did not know about this, there's nothing you could have done about it, and you 100% oppose it. But it's too late.

What do you do?


If you proclaim, "I had nothing to do with this and knew nothing of this' - well, you look guilty. The public and media would say, "That;'s what every politician in a scandal says!"


If you fire the culprit and crack down hard, then you look like someone who is trying very hard to cast blame and distance yourself - which makes you look guilty.

If you take responsibility for what happened, even though it wasn't your fault, then the media and public will think you were part of the scandal.


What would you do?

[Separation]

1. Invade somebody

Or drone somebody. Misdirection, it's not just for Vegas magic shows anymore.

[Scootaloo]

2. It happened, and it happened under my watch. Therefore it IS my responsibility

Take responsibility on those terms to the public, go after the guilty parties, and take what comes of it.

[newfie11]

7. +1. Nt

[SheilaT]

3. It's my opinion that

the governor, president, whoever absolutely should have had some clue here. I recognize that you're making the not knowing an essential condition of the scandal, but it comes down to the political leader should have known and needs to take responsibility, even if he could not possibly have known. It's a clear case of "The buck stops here."

Unfortunately, we do not have a tradition of honorable resignation from office under such circumstances. We should have. Instead we have a tradition of being above the fray, which too often has come to mean above the law.

[PlanetaryOrbit]

8. With hundreds of people in an administration, that could be hard.

Plus, bribery, fraud and embezzlement are usually kept secret for the purpose of being........hard to detect.

[SheilaT]

10. True, but nonetheless the head of that administration needs to

first of all start out by making it very clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, and then follow up. Or, depending on the specific thing that happens, resign.

[adirondacker]

4. Hire a bunch of lawyers and make it all legal. nt

[Doctor_J]

5. I'd get my Big Media pals to lie and pass the blame

Just like Fat Bastard did.

[jberryhill]

6. Not much

Let the investigation run its course.

There's not much one can do without complications.

[hughee99]

9. Blame my political opponents for the scandal even if I know it's completely the fault

of someone in my administration. Suggest there are "powerful forces, some within the government" that will stop at nothing to prevent me from implementing my agenda (being as vague as possible as to which particular part of my agenda is so objectionable), appear to stick by the guilty party while also secretly asking them to resign, and find something foreign policy related to distract people from the topic as much as possible.