The saga continues. Yes, the one where we argue about who's a better father -- Don Ness or Charlie Bell -- not who's a better candidate for mayor of Duluth.
Bell, putting his foot in his mouth during the Fox 21 interview, essentially said he's in a good place in his life right now to be mayor of Duluth.
"My kids are all out of high school, all out of school," Bell said. "I'm in a position to give the community the time it needs, and I won't compromise my time with my family, or I won't compromise the time the city needs for us to solve our problems and move forward."
Implying, of course, that Ness -- who has a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old -- would have to neglect either his family or the city of Duluth if he is elected.
It wasn't the first time Bell said something along those lines, although it may have been the first time he said it on the record.
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We think it would be smart and polite to quit bringing up the subject.
That doesn't mean people will quit talking about it. However, when pondering the subject, remember this: We all look at the world through the lenses of our own experience.
Bell raised his children essentially on his own. He said he decided not to run for public office until they were grown so he could be there to cook dinner and drive to volleyball practice and so on. His choice.
Ness, on the other hand, has a wife who's very involved in the rearing of their two children, he said, as well as the decision about whether or not he should run for mayor. They made that call together. And, with Ness on the council for eight years already, if any two people could know what being mayor of Duluth would mean, it's probably them.
Not every family, every couple -- every father -- is the same. It's not fair to assume they should do as you do, whether that's working full time or being a stay-at-home parent who home-schools.
Then there's the fact that it's basically dirty pool to drag a person's family into a political race, unless it's to prove that he or she is a hypocrite.
Both Bell and Ness claim they want to focus on the issues, not their personal lives.
Why don't we oblige them by doing exactly that?
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We don't want to know how many diapers either of them have changed or plan to change over the course of their lives.
We want to know how they're going to change the city of Duluth.
How will they solve the retiree health-care crisis?
What about the zoo?
What about that $6 million deficit the city's looking at next year?
Bring on the debates.
And may the best candidate win.
