Really, Rand?

Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican candidate for senate, has already stirred up rancor with is comments on civil rights legislation. Simply put, I find his stance distasteful at best, and I think that a reasonable person could interpret his statements as plainly racist. But that isn't the only controversy he's facing right now.

It seems Mr. Paul - or is it Dr. Paul - has run afoul of a Louisville paper that uncovered what I think is a far greater cause for concern. The candidate has an eye surgery practice in Bowling Green. And he's board certified. Seems fine, right?

Not so fast, say the folks at USA Today (not my leading source for news, but I'm glad they covered this). Yes, he does have a certification from the National Board of Ophthalmology. But this is only because Rand Paul had some sort of dispute with the legitimate, AMA-recognized American Board of Ophthalmology. Again, fine.

But the National Board of Ophthalmology's board consists of - you guessed it - Rand Paul (president), his wife (vice-president) and father-in-law (secretary). When questioned about this, Paul dismissed the issue at first, stating that re-certification was not needed. He then claimed to be certified by both. When that was shown to be false, this was the response:

A spokesman subsequently said that Paul misspoke because the question was unclear and he acknowledged his certification by the American Board had lapsed.

If nothing else, Rand Paul is creative. Evasive, to be sure. The problem I have is that with someone this inclined to moral relativism about something as important as a professional medical certification, how can he be trusted to provide leadership in the senate? Paul claims that these news stories are an attack on his livelihood. Really, Rand? You are running for one of the highest offices in the land. You are doing so at one of the more politically divisive times in our history. What's more, you are making statements public that are controversial at best. Do you seriously believe that having reporters question your professional ethics is an attack?

Yes, we all err. Yes, even the best among us sometimes takes a more expedient pathway, even if it isn't the best pathway. But if you are running for public office, you need to expect questions about your character. And with health care reform still fresh in the minds of many Americans, seeing a candidate trying to beat the system from the inside does not install confidence that he or she is the right person for the job, certainly not right now.

It will be an interesting election year, to say the least.