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From all the headlines, you'd think Bill Bennett was hiding Saddam's weapons of mass destruction or was Patient Zero in the SARS outbreak. Nope. He just loves high-stakes video poker.

This thunderstorm-in-a-thimble is at the end of its media-saturated life. There were the revelations, the response, the commentary, the more contrite response, the metacommentary, the backlash, and the casual pop culture reference. It was a busy weekend.

Weblog won't round up everything on this. There's simply too much, and too many other folks are doing it. (Check out Howard Kurtz's Washington Post column for the key pieces of commentary.) But here's what the religious pundits are saying.

"While opinions differ as to whether gambling is a vice, few would regard it as a virtue. This is why the news of Bill Bennett's fondness for high-stakes gambling is so disappointing," says Family Research Council President Ken Connor in his Washington Update memo to supporters.

As the nation's leading critic of America's virtue deficit, Mr. Bennett, like it or not, bears a greater burden regarding his personal conduct than the average citizen. The same is no less true for all of us who promote virtue in the public square. While, as Mr. Bennett says, he has done nothing illegal, the sheer scale of his gambling activities [is] troubling. … Gambling is not as benign as he suggests. The gambling industry attracts and fosters such other vices as prostitution, substance abuse, spousal abuse, divorce, and family abandonment. Some gloating pundits, of course, have pounced on the story to accuse Mr. Bennett of being a moralizing hypocrite. The truth is, however, Mr. Bennett has simply shown himself to have feet of clay. We are, after all, made of dust. Christians are called upon to be good stewards of God's blessings. Mr. Bennett has apparently reflected on the quality of his stewardship and issued the following statement late today: "I have done too much gambling, and this is not an example I wish to set … Therefore, my gambling days are over." Good for Mr. Bennett. It's what a man of virtue would do.

Likewise, Focus on the Family's James Dobson uses the controversy to condemn gambling. "We were disappointed to learn that our longtime friend, Dr. Bill Bennett, is dealing with what appears to be a gambling addiction," Dobson says in a press release. "One of the reasons Focus on the Family continues to be strongly opposed to any form of gambling is because it has the power to ensnare and wound not only its victims, but also those closest to them. 'Gaming,' as the industry euphemistically refers to itself, is a cancer on the soul of the nation. We commend Dr. Bennett for acknowledging his problem and for stating emphatically, 'My gambling days are over.' Our prayers will be with him and his family in the days ahead."

What's interesting about Dobson's statement is his use of the a-word. Bennett denies that he's an addict, as does his wife. Of course, denial of an addiction is almost universal among addicts and their wives, but Dobson does seem to be using a term that few others are willing to use. Note also that if Dobson—a child psychologist—really does believe that Bennett is an addict, it seems inconsistent to give him an enthusiastic benediction without encouraging him to seek treatment. Focus on the Family regularly encourages addicts to seek 12-step meetings and therapy.

Concerned Women for America, on the other hand, says it prays that Bennett "will not hesitate to seek any help he may need in keeping his resolve." In a press release, the group says it "commends our friend Bill Bennett's bold move to cease gambling despite an absence of personal conviction. Taking responsibility for his example to others, he has once again demonstrated good character. America's families are reeling under the epidemic results of rampant gambling. Bankruptcies have increased exponentially; families are crumbling under the weight of irresponsible gambling losses."

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May (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47