Stakeouts And Shouted Questions

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A more circumspect approach to such delicate matters was exhibited later in the week by the Post, whose behavior was surely influenced by the controversy * that engulfed the Herald. The paper's story about another Hart sexual liaison originated with a tip from a confidential source a few days after the Herald story broke, and the information, the Post said, was "effectively confirmed" by its own investigation. But before writing the story, a Post reporter informed members of the Hart staff of the evidence. A series of discussions between the Hart camp and Post editors ensued, and it was during this time that Hart made his decision to withdraw from the race. The paper, as a result, printed no details of the sexual affair, describing it only as a "relationship with a Washington woman." Executive Editor Bradlee denied in the Post's story that a deal had been struck. "There were no ultimatums, no negotiations," he said. "We simply asked to talk to Hart about the information we had gathered."

Whatever one thinks of the specific tactics of the Herald and the Post, it is clear that last week's events carried the press into new territory in its coverage of sex and politics. "What do the media do now about the other 14 people in the presidential race?" asks F. Richard Ciccone, managing editor of the Chicago Tribune. "Do we stake them out and make sure they are not conducting themselves in any way that we don't deem acceptable?"

The answer, of course, is no. Hart's case was unique: issues of character had dogged his campaign, and rumors of his sexual indiscretions had been raised and sharply denied. Hart had even invited the scrutiny by his challenge to the media in a New York Times Magazine story that same weekend to "put a tail on me." Indeed, the memory of Hart's painful ordeal may make journalists -- at least the responsible ones -- more cautious about stakeouts and pursuing anonymous tips in the immediate future. (Several news organizations, including TIME, received anonymous tips about other purported Hart affairs last week.)

What may have a more lasting impact is the extraordinary spectacle of Gary Hart being asked by Washington Post Reporter Paul Taylor in a frenzied New Hampshire press conference if he had ever committed adultery. There, on network TV, a taboo of sorts was broken, and the questioning of presidential candidates is likely to grow blunter and more personal. Gary Hart's life changed that Friday night when a band of Miami Herald reporters staked out his Capitol Hill town house. The already delicate relationship between the press and politicians changed profoundly, and probably for the worse, when that ! question was shouted for all the world to hear.