One is tempted to dismiss as much ado about nothing the biographical discrepancies in what many see as state Sen. Wendy Davis’ inspiring life story except for two things. First, newly revealed truths greatly change the tenor of her compelling, mobile home-to-riches saga.
Second, the fact her campaign staff, let alone the candidate, allowed half-truths and embellishments to flourish raises some troubling questions about their integrity if not veracity. After all, campaign officials in successful bids often land in pivotal government posts after the election is done.
All this goes back to basic fact-checking veteran political reporter Wayne Slater of The Dallas Morning News did recently concerning the Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s impoverished background as a teenage mother, struggling vigorously against adversity to earn a degree from Harvard Law School amid failed marriages, children and dire financial challenges.
Some of Slater’s revelations seem fairly minor, including the fact she divorced her first husband at age 21, not 19, which still robs her of the convenient claim of being a single “teenage mom.” Other facts are more damning, including those involving a second marriage and education bills.
According to second husband Jeff Davis, she neglected to note that he not only kept her children while she went off to Harvard (at least for much of the time) but shouldered much of her college debt, paying off the very last of it one day before she divorced him. And he wound up with both of the children.
This paper recognizes that efforts by young women to surmount early hurdles involving failed marriages, children, debt and education are often complicated beyond comprehension. Generally we believe such matters aren’t relevant on the campaign trail. But all of that changes when the candidate herself begins touting dramatic personal narratives as a way to draw respect, admiration and votes. Then that narrative becomes fair game for unrelenting scrutiny by the press and the political opposition. So it is here.
Davis’ failure to immediately and magnanimously accept responsibility for inconsistencies in her narrative has allowed all this to become an issue when voters should be pressing answers from Davis and likely Republican nominee Greg Abbott on such matters as public education — an issue where the attorney general is clearly vulnerable.
We decline to make judgments about Davis’ actual actions as a young mother pursuing an education while juggling kids, husbands and bills. No doubt it’s a tangled scenario. That said, she and her political team erred significantly in their exaggerations and omissions about it all.
Given attention spans, the inconsistencies in this appealing candidate’s biography will likely be forgotten by the time voters decide between Davis and Abbott. But if she seems the better candidate, the question of her veracity should nonetheless give voters pause.
NOTE: This piece has been altered to add attribution to comments by Jeff Davis concerning his marriage to state Sen. Wendy Davis.
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