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Several famous television evangelists got caught in such circumstances.

There is also the off-color comment of President Bush to former Prime Minister Tony Blair expressing anger at the United Nations’ position on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon that was broadcast live.

For years, I wore a wireless microphone for public speaking. I often worried about what someone might say to me. I also worried about making sure it was off if I had to go the restroom. A famous CNN reporter once forgot to turn the mic off in a similar situation.

When an engineer at Fox News left a microphone on, Jesse Jackson was overheard making a rude comment about Barack Obama and had to apologize.

But there is a larger issue here, and Jackson’s own son pointed it out. The rude remark goes against what the reverend has stood for during his career. 

Simply put, we ought to live our lives and speak our minds as if the microphones are always on. 

It is called congruency. It means that publicly and privately, in one group or another, at home or away, we are the same person.

Our children, above all, notice it. Our family knows when we put on a public persona that is different from our personal one.

A few years ago, we had a rash of incongruence within the media clergy. Tammy and Jim Baker, along with Jimmy Swaggart, exercised a different morality than they espoused.

The same difference leads us to feel betrayed when someone sworn to uphold the law breaks it. A former San Joaquin County Sheriff let us down. President Nixon said openly that he was “not a crook.” History will assess the truth of that.

The American people believe by a large margin that the current White House administration is incongruent when it comes to the law and truth.

One of most recent examples of incongruity is that of former priest and talk show host Bernie Ward. He loudly criticized his church members for sexual misconduct. He was arrested for possessing child pornography. He was summarily fired, convicted and sent to prison.

When you use a microphone, you had better watch not only what you say but what you do. Public figures are — sometimes to their regret — public.

• Mike McLellan can be contacted by calling and leaving a message at 830-4201 or e-mailing him at DrMikeM@sbcglobal.net.