Dear GOP: You are not teenagers. This is not high school.
So, South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford had an affair. With a woman in Argentina. An affair that was apparently so all-consuming he felt the need to visit said Argentine in person, leaving his state government in a bit of limbo. He felt the need to come clean about the affair after multiple questions about his whereabouts, his safety, and sure, his sanity came up in the news (mad_typist has a great timeline) -- essentially, he 'fessed up because he was about to be caught.
And Senator John Ensign of Nevada had an affair. With one of his campaign staffers. While her husband worked in his office. And he may have paid the woman more while they were an item. And he may have paid her son. He felt the need to come clean about the affair after the husband and/or the wife decided this was a story worth telling -- so, again, he decided to speak up because he was about to be caught.
Now, back in the unromantic world of politics, Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham, two of my favorites, have been jumping up and down on Twitter and the Sunday morning shows, basically calling President Obama a chicken for not taking a harder stance over Iran. McCain would like to see military options. Obama would like to tread carefully. And that's trying the bejesus out of McCain's legendary miniscule patience.
WTF, Republicans? When did we go back to high school? Just because your official photos look like high school yearbook shots doesn't mean you're actually 17 again.
But now, you're in government, not high school. In these situations, there's no principal to save you. What if John Ensign had been blackmailed, and had then had to turn to political supporters for even more money? What if that had had an effect on his voting and thinking or, worse, his leadership in the party? What if an emergency had come up in Mark Sanford's state while he was gone, and the crucial hours spent figuring out exactly who was in charge had made all the difference between saving lives and seeing citizens perish? What if Barack Obama wasn't cool-hand Luke, and answered McCain's taunting by taking to the airwaves to answer him head-on, and in so doing made a volatile situation even worse?
In high school, the worst consequence was usually detention, maybe suspension, maybe a long, ugly talk from your parents. Maybe they'd take your car away. It was barely worth playing the what-if game. Once you're a grown-up, actions have serious consequences -- all the more serious when you're an elected official. People rely on you.
You need to think with your brains, guys. Your grown-up, in-your-skull brains.
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Catherine Forsythe
Writer to the Stars
Emily Holleman
Iron Skillet
Leslie Harpole
old new lefty
Salon.com
Comments
All of these affairs are a riot though. This is why, when you picture one of these guys on a pedestal, you should be picturing them banging their secretary, or admin. asst., if you prefer contemporary job titles.
Awesome line. Yes and now I understand my dislike of politicians even better. I don't like teenagers- didn't like them even when I was one of them. Teenagers are scary people.
Well, if there's one good thing to come out of this, we have a new euphemism for cheating on your wife: "hiking the Appalachian."
"Hold my calls, I'll be hiking the Appalachian for the next two hours."
http://open.salon.com/blog/bobbyg/2009/06/16/to_my_wife
I gotta say, my schadenfreude runneth over today. These preening GOP Family Values "pricks." It's actually pretty simple, dudes, "You gain the strength of the temptation you avoid." (Thomas Szasz)
Cooler heads prevailing is the order of the day. But will it be followed?
~~~~~~~~~~
sidenote: I listened to a fascinating interview with Karim Sadjadpour about Iran on Fresh Air yesterday:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?
storyId=105802915&ft=1&f=13
that posits the following conundrum:
If Bush were still in power, there probably wouldn't be the protests in the streets of Iran that there are now; if Bush were in power, the opposition party leader, Hossein Mousavi, wouldn't likely be setting himself up as a martyr as he is now. Sadjadpour believes that those who are unhappy with (to put it mildly) with the administration [ and the whole Supreme Leader thingy ] in Iran wouldn't have felt 'free' to publicly express that, in any way. In Iran. With Bush in power.
Also, see today's article about Robert Wright's examination of "god", particularly:
"My basic premise is that when a religious group sees itself as having something to gain through peaceful interaction with another group of people, including a different religion, it will find a basis for tolerance in its scriptures and religion. When groups see each other as being in a non-zero sum relationship -- there's a possibility of a win-win outcome if they play their cards right, or a lose-lose outcome if they don't -- then they tend to warm up to one another. By contrast, if people see themselves in a zero-sum relationship with another group of people -- they can only win if the other group loses -- that brings out the intolerance and the dark side of religion."
How are all these references of mine relevant to what you've posted?
They are not in high school. They are entrusted with ensuring the safety and well-being of their constituents. They're also not on the battlefield in The Hundred Years War, or fighting Byzantine skirmishes. So why is it they behave as if they were?
"Man has truly not evolved since he invented fire." My 80-year-old mother used to cluck that at odd times in my youth, 30-, 40-some years ago.
I used to roll my eyes.
And, sadly, I found out that the Lieutenant Gov of SC is NOT, in fact, Andre Braugher of Homicide: Life on the Street, but some other bland & clueless dude. Perhaps, though, we could pretend we're in high school and start a rumor to that effect.
Makes you long for the Larry Craig days.
McCain really is senile if he thinks this crap is going to get him back any of the dignity he lost during the campaign.
Sanford's stupidity is breath taking and I couldn't care less about the other guy.
@ aphrabehn,
Honey, it aint no secret. I'm in Misissippi and we can see that from here.
Right... not with their "other" brains. LOLOLOLL....
Sexual misbehavior is an indicator for poor judgment and weak self-control. However it's no more - or less - blameworthy in the public servant than it is in the athlete or the entertainer.
The difference, of course, lies in the impact public servants can have on the economy, the environment and the general welfare. Thus, their policies and their official acts ought to be tightly scrutinized in the light of their sexual misbehavior, but a randy nature and the inability to control - or hide - it is not prima facie evidence of unfitness for office.
In my book, guys like McCain and Graham are poor choices for public policy makers for reasons that have nothing to do with who they take to bed.
Stepford Freaks.
Did you hear about the new brand of Republican Pants? Liar Liar Pants on Fire!!
The question is one of concealment and semi-self-control, not if.
They are ridiculous at this point, which is good news, because it means that they are about to get replaced. But well-written as usual.
Besides, it is the Late American Republic, and one should have a sense of humor about these things. :)
But seriously, there's no good spin on this for a Republican from SC, right? He missed Father's Day!
Bbd, I hadn't caught the Fox thing, but heh, I'm not surprised. And thanks!
Lonnie, I certainly didn't mean to imply anything about McCain or Graham having affairs, just simply that their public actions seem to be ruled by illogical forces -- like high schoolish hormones. And I agree with you that it's not per se the affairs of the others that's the big deal, but how those affairs have an effect on their official actions.
I predict... remember you read it here first... that some day we will be reading Ms. Smith on the op-ed pages of the Times, that is, if the Times still exists then.
Aw, KTM, and David, thanks.
Who these people diddle doesn't have a thing to do with running the country.
And yes, for those wishing to partisan cheap shot, I felt this way when Clinton was being hounded. Lying about a hummer does not rise to the level of a high crime or a misdemeanor.
You know when I was dippin' my dilly bar in my frosty I just couldn't remember and my french fries was mixed up with my chick filet and then all of a sudden...oh back to my husband...is that who you were talking about??? Huh!
We Parisians tend to become sidetracked too!
It isn't the affair or the lying, it's the fact that he thought his nonsensical behavior would go unnoticed.
Has has either suffered a real mental lapse (which was no doubt partly brought on by realizing his selfish and transparent grandstanding with the stimulus money back fired, or he self sabotaged to end his marriage and career.
Either way, whoa.
I enjoyed your post.
What a concept; the Democrats provided the stimulus; the courts made him accept it – the poor dear just went along with it - all the way to Argentina. So on final analysis: “the devil made him do it!” damned Democrats!
Its stupid, but I find if odd that we try to hold our politicians to a higher standard, yet we (the public) cannot even meet that same standard. I hope the media lets this go and allows Sanford and his family to deal with this in private.
And don't give me this "family values" crap. Wrong is wrong.
Got it in one.
Can we go to the Creation Museum to see the saddled up dinosaurs?? I love the truth.
Ensign, Sanford and...who's next?
Which GOP Moral Leader goes down with these two?
Can't be Boehner...that would be too obvious.
Politics (starting with student government) tends to attract the egocentric and power hungry who are prone to self-deception and the belief that they are above reproach. And these are the qualities of the cheater-husband, regardless of whether they be Democrats or Republicans.
Hmm, in threes, you say? And they were all 2012 hopefuls... Here's betting if any of the others have girlfriends (or boyfriends), those folks are going to get some very delicate "it's over forever" calls this weekend.
Dorinda Fox
Dorinda Fox at 4:35pm June 24
Your post are consistently excellent and over the past months you have made politics understandable to me. If life is fair and worthy are rewarded you will be paid to write about these subjects soon.
The incident does have some humor in it; when Sanford goes for a "hike," he doesn't fool around, does he? Oops, okay, yes he does "fool around" which is the crux of his problem. Who knew he meant the Argentinian end of the Appalachian Trail?
Shiral -- yeah, it seems it's a much longer hike than one could've guessed. I had no idea you could hike there from SC.
On the other hand, I have a problem with hypocrites. Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Sanford, and all the others who run on a platform of "moral values" or "family values" need to be smacked down, and smacked down hard.
That is why I am supporting Stormy Daniels in her race against Vitter.
Hey, we know that Daniels will screw people. But unlike Vitter, when she does it, people get some satisfaction.
However, I sure there are plenty of Dems with their pants at their knees. So it all comes back to who is preaching morality and who is getting caught being "immoral."
Here's the big one, the one that still affects us today in how our government operates - can you say J EDGAR HOOVER?
I am tired of the hypocricy that masquarades as moral arbitration passed down as a litmus test for what makes a "good American."
"McCain would like to see military options. Obama would like to tread carefully. And that's trying the bejesus out of McCain's legendary miniscule patience"
I saw your comment and it reminded me of an article in Reason Magazine during the campaign and am so damned grateful he failed in his bid for office. So goddamned grateful.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/118937.html
But who knows, maybe she's watching Kim Jong Il from Alaska through a telescope, or something.
I could ask, "if Ahmedinejad were our ally (and we've had some doozies), what do you bet the Iranian election protesters would be 'rabble' or 'a mob' rather than brave people fighting for democracy, right now?" Especially since the neocons currently fervent in their support of Iranian "reform" were enthusiastically singing "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" at about this time last year?
But of course, it would be cynical of me to question Neocon compassion, wouldn't it?
It's not that hard to get people to lie for a politician with power.