Sometimes, nice guys win

In an intense situation, Paul McNulty displayed admirable civility and was rewarded

Paul McNulty testifying before the US Congress.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. —Philippians 2:14–15

Today’s Friday spiritual post is an uplifting story of public integrity.

In 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton on charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice. (Impeachment is the equivalent of bringing charges in a criminal trial. The trial took place in the U.S. Senate, which voted not to remove Clinton from office.)

During the impeachment process, the chief spokesperson for the Republicans opposing Clinton was Paul McNulty, an evangelical Christian. While studying at Grove City College near Pittsburgh, USA, McNulty had been mentored by Wayne Alderson, who was famous for his role in reconciling labor-management conflict at a steel company. Alderson later served as a consultant to major businesses on how to build good relationships with employees by valuing each individual and modeling love, dignity, and respect.

In his spokesperson role, McNulty had to represent the Republican position in a very high-profile confrontation with the White House and Democratic leaders. While doing so, he remembered what Alderson had taught him. “I was very self-conscious about showing love, dignity, and respect,” McNulty explained later. “I tried to maintain self-control in language and tone, show courtesy to my opponents, and characterize their position in such a way that they would feel they had been represented well, not misrepresented for my own advantage. As a result, I made good friendships with a lot of Democrats.”

Eight years later, as deputy attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department, McNulty became embroiled in a scandal over the unexplained firing of several members of the department. McNulty was working for Republican president George W. Bush, so now the Democrats were the critics. But they didn’t attack McNulty—on the contrary, they viewed him as a trustworthy voice.

As McNulty explained, “Time and time again, Democrats would defend me and say, ‘Whatever the issue is here, we don’t think it is McNulty.’ In fact, [Democratic Senator] Chuck Schumer became a key defender of me, because he remembered how I had dealt with him.”

McNulty’s integrity was rewarded by others besides Senator Schumer. In 2014, McNulty was selected as president of Grove City College, a position from which he will retire this year.

In settings when restraint, courtesy, love, dignity, and respect are in short supply—and we’ve seen a lot of them recently—Christians should stand out all the more!