If you step into the spotlight, be prepared for its glare. That’s what Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Clinton must realize.

Clinton is complaining about an invasion of his privacy because a supermarket tabloid printed a story about an alleged affair with a Little Rock newswoman. Since Clinton threw his hat into the ring, he is certainly fair game for inquiry into his past doings.

Regardless of whether the rumors are true, when one decides to make his living as a politician, he must be prepared to have his private life picked apart.

Voters have a right to know who or what they’re voting for in a presidential election. Some blocks of voters could be swayed differently if a past skeleton were to come rattling out of a candidate’s closet. After all, if a candidate cannot be honest with his wife, one could question whether he would be honest while running the country.

Gary Hart’s aborted campaign of 1988 might have been a highly- publicized recent case, but it certainly wasn’t the first. Watergate broke the dam wide open and it’s part of the press’ duty to report on the transgressions of the politically motivated.

Regardless of whether a person’s political career is ruined, journalists are not the people to blame. The people, and no one else, decide if a politician’s moral character is fit to hold public office.