Parents are the weak link in the chain when it comes to protecting their children.

I was always an overachiever.

Although I'd first seen Senator Hart in Aspen, Colorado, at a New Year's Day party in 1987, we hadn't talked.

Shortly thereafter, some friends encouraged me to try out for the Miss South Carolina World beauty pageant. To my surprise, I won - and was sent to New York City to compete nationally.

But even after the first week, when Hart got out of the presidential race because of the Washington Post's threat to reveal a long-term relationship Hart had apparently been having with a prominent Washington woman, the media continued to embellish my past.

I had gained so much confidence through my college achievements that I wanted to tackle the world.

I stared at the television in shock, watching as my private life was revealed to the world.