Why Does This Matter?

Updated
Why is it news that someone was arrested (did not do time) for peddling an extremely small amount of marijuana in the 70s -- and why does that make him persona non gratis in politics today?

Ex-Con, screams ABC. Are you really an "ex-con" if you never serve time? And who in his right mind truly thinks 11 pounds of maryjane is even worth calling "dealing"? Oh, right, a nation where DEA agents arrest people for medical marijuana, despite state laws making such use legal.

Is this "news" because Fred Thompson (R) is a "law and order" presidential candidate? Is this "news" because the Republican party launched the "war on drugs" and Philip Martin (the druggie "ex-con") is giving time and money to a Republican candidate? In other words, party hypocrisy?

Is this "news" because Republican officials and candidates (the party?) often take the position that felons who have served their time do not deserve to regain their right to vote?

"Only Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, which all happen to be former Confederate states, cling to lifetime bans that can only be changed through individual appeals," according to the Boston Globe.

"Felon disenfranchisement has long given Republicans a considerable boost at the polls in Florida; if the state's ex-cons had been allowed to vote in 2000, George W. Bush would now be the commissioner of baseball," according to Salon. To whit:

"In 2000, thousands of people who were qualified to vote were turned away from Florida's polls because their names were erroneously purged from voter rolls; they weren't felons, and were possibly model citizens whose only crime was having a name similar to that of someone else who'd once committed a felony. In 2004, the same thing nearly happened again. Nevertheless -- or maybe as a consequence -- Jeb Bush, Crist's predecessor in the governor's office, remained a strong believer in restricting felons' rights."

Is it "news" because "drug crimes" (and, thus, an associated stigma) have mushroomed since the Reagan era? More from the Globe:

The number of drug offenders in jails and prisons has grown eleven-fold since 1980 to 450,000. The imbalance has reached unconscionable levels. In federal prisons, only 13 percent of inmates are there for violent crimes compared with 55 percent who are there for drug offenses. In 1980, only 25 percent of federal inmates were drug offenders.

Or is it "news" simply because political discourse today consists of personality, not issues?

Update
Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice reminds us that this "gotcha moment" reflects America's media (and blogger) fixation on past statements, past personal history: doesn't matter whether it is or is not a "huge political deal." Gandelman says "smart" politicos know and plan for this. By that logic, Clinton and Giuliani are in the same "coulda been smarter" boat as Thompson.

I still think that media or opposition focus on "gotcha" moments trivializes the political process and undermines civic engagement.