When public figures say silly things

What do Howard Dean and Michael Jackson have in common? They both said something stupid today. Here are Michael Jackson’s views on sleeping with children, expressed to CBS:

In his first interview since his arrest on child molestation charges, Michael Jackson tells Ed Bradley it’s still ok to share his bed with children in a report to be broadcast on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Sunday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m./ET, 6 p.m./Central. The pop star says, “Of course. Why not? If you’re going to be a pedophile, if you’re going to be Jack the Ripper, if you’re going to be a murderer, it’s not a good idea. That I am not.”

Question for Michael Jackson: do you think this is the best PR strategy to be pursuing? Then there’s Howard Dean on Osama bin Laden in an interview with the Concord Monitor:

The Monitor asked: Where should Osama bin Laden be tried if he’s caught? Dean said he didn’t think it made any difference, and if he were president he would consult with his lawyers for advice on the subject. But wouldn’t most Americans feel strongly that bin Laden should be tried in America – and put to death? “I’ve resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found,” Dean said. “I still have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to, in positions of executive power, not to prejudge jury trials. So I’m sure that is the correct sentiment of most Americans, but I do think if you’re running for president, or if you are president, it’s best to say that the full range of penalties should be available. But it’s not so great to prejudge the judicial system.”

Logical question for Governor Dean — how is your support for the decision to go to war in Afghanistan not tantamount to “pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found”? [So you want to string up bin Laden the moment we get our hands on him?–ed. No, no — due process for everyone. But I can hear Karl Rove cackling with glee from this time zone. So this is going to hurt Dean in the nomination?–ed. No, it’s going to help him — click here for why.] UPDATE: Dean released a clarifying statement on his official blog:

I share the outrage of all Americans. Osama bin Laden has admitted that he is responsible for killing 3,000 Americans as well as scores of men, women and children around the world. This is exactly the kind of case that the death penalty is meant for.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Pejman Yousefzadeh has more:

Now, I don’t have any problem with giving bin Laden a fair trial–assuming of course that he is still alive to stand trial. I am a lawyer, I care about due process, and from a purely political standpoint, I’m more than happy to show the world that even America’s enemies are given a fair shake in American courts. But Dean reveals himself to be the vacuous and lightweight presidential candidate that he is in stating that “he didn’t think it made any difference” where bin Laden is tried, if he does stand trial. Of course it makes a difference. If bin Laden were tried only in the Hague–the only possible location other than in the United States for a trial–he would not receive the death penalty, as the international tribunal is forbidden from sentencing anyone to death. If, as Dan reports in his update, Dean is serious about his statement that the September 11th attacks are “exactly the kind of case that the death penalty is meant for,” then he has to take the question of jurisdiction far more seriously than his flippant and comical answer would seem to indicate he is taking it.

I’m more ambivalent on the death penalty question for Osama than Pejman — as I’ve said before, for Al Qaeda, embarrassment is a punishment worse than death.