Seeking the Morals of the Reverend and Sheriff Stories

Two of Orange County’s sturdiest public figures have been wobbled recently by the fickle finger of controversy. In a county largely devoid of tabloid material, we have to settle for Robert Schuller and Brad Gates. Not exactly Rodman or Jacko caliber, to be sure, but the Reverend and the Sheriff have provided unexpected gossip relief from the slowness of the summer season.

The similarities between the two men’s plights are striking. Both are accused of conduct unbecoming, but in a larger sense, their credibility and reputations are under attack. Those are not small things, especially for a minister who goes back 40 years in the county and a sheriff who took office 23 years ago.

The men share other characteristics. Both seem to enjoy wearing the regalia that their positions permit (Gates looks like Gen. Pershing when he’s in full dress uniform and Schuller, looking almost papal in his flowing robe, leads one to suspect he suffers from Pius envy.)

The point is, neither man seems a shrinking violet. I think you could safely assume they have healthy egos.

Perhaps that’s why, when each met the press to discuss their situations, they invoked their reputations as defenses.

In a sexual-harassment lawsuit that targets Gates’ assistant sheriff, Gates is accused by a high-ranking woman officer of using inappropriate, sexually oriented language on at least one occasion. The officer said Gates once suggested that large-breasted “bimbos” be recruited for a charity function to whip up donor enthusiasm.

Once upon a time, a lot of sheriffs in this country wouldn’t lose sleep over that, but those days are gone. Nowadays, it’s not the kind of thing a sheriff likes to see in print next to his name, especially one like Gates, who has attempted to create an aura of moral uprightness for himself.

“I stand on my credibility,” Gates told the press, in denying he ever said such a thing. He described the officer’s complaint about him as a “shock.”

He may have been shocked, but the Rev. Schuller went him one better. He was “shellshocked” that a United Airlines flight attendant had accused the Crystal Cathedral icon of injuring him during an in-flight incident. Schuller said he may have put a hand on the man’s shoulder in a conciliatory gesture but not in a way that could be construed as aggressive or hostile.

Schuller’s attorney repeatedly invoked the reverend’s legacy as a nationally recognized preacher, saying it would be “absolute insanity” for anyone to believe the flight attendant’s account.

In both cases, the allegations involve relatively minor affronts, even if true. Gates is not accused, as is his assistant, of any inappropriate physical contact toward female employees. If the sheriff said what he’s accused of saying, it is, at worst, bad form for the head of a public agency. Whether it rises to the level of institutional harassment is a far different question. The majority of men and women, I’d venture to say, need more than use of the word “bimbo” to shock their sensibilities.

Same with Schuller. I’d be surprised if the investigation reveals that Schuller roughed up the flight attendant. Even if the alleged incident occurred, one suspects it amounted to little more than jostling. If so, it would barely register on the “incident” scale, if it involved you or me.

But the allegations surrounding Schuller and Gates take on more oomph because both men have set themselves up as moral exemplars of their community--Schuller in the obvious way, but Gates more so than other sheriffs you can think of.

Gates has done plenty of moralizing during his tenure--whether about drug use or other social problems--clearly going beyond a sheriff who sees his role merely to send a budget to the supervisors. Having a ranking officer allege that he has created a “hostile” workplace because of sexually tinged remarks undercuts his image.

Similarly, imagining Schuller as a pushy (literally) passenger does not square with the Sunday morning image he has carefully cultivated.

The alleged incidents will play out. It may be that both are victimized by the particular vulnerability to which public figures are exposed.

Perhaps the facts will show otherwise.

In both cases, we’ll all be watching, not because the details are that titillating but because both men have staked much of their status to the high moral ground. Most of us wouldn’t dare try that, but Gates and Schuller have linked their respective political and religious empires to their personal behaviors.

And that’s why these two estimable forces in Orange County now find themselves in a different kind of campaign: to prove that what they’ve been telling us over the years about themselves is all true.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or calling (714) 966-7821.