only for the Republicans it seems?
Posted on 06/28/2009 3:37:40 AM PDT by Kaslin
By now, it's clear that Mark Sanford has about as much of a future in politics as he does in sumo wrestling. His confession of adultery was all it took to demolish any hopes he had of running for president -- and perhaps even to force him to step down as governor of South Carolina. But why?
After all, we've had presidents who are revered by posterity despite being unreliable husbands. Hardly anyone even remembers now that Franklin Roosevelt had a mistress, that Dwight Eisenhower may have had one, or that John Kennedy had several.
In the intervening decades, we've also become far more aware of just how common such behavior is among officeholders -- not only Gary Hart, Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani but lesser-known mayors, governors, congressmen and water commissioners. Nowadays, finding that a politician breached his marital vows is about as surprising as learning that a professional athlete failed a drug test. If Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi can overcome their guilt, why not Sanford?
Other politicians have survived -- most conspicuously our 42nd president. In fact, you'd think the Monica Lewinsky scandal would have settled the issue once and for all. Democrats found themselves excusing Clinton's conduct, and Republicans who condemned it wound up on the losing side in both public opinion and the impeachment battle.
When it was over, Clinton left office with a 65 percent approval rating. Trust him with your daughter? Not a chance. But your economy? Sure.
George W. Bush, by contrast, finished his term with an approval rating of 22 percent. Trust him with your daughter? Sure. But keep him away from the economy! Both parties could have drawn the same conclusion: Voters have more important things to worry about than their leaders' sex lives.
Yet here we are again, disqualifying a possible White House aspirant because he couldn't keep his pants on. After two decades of high-level political sex scandals, we seem to have reached a consensus that marital fidelity is actually pretty important in a leader. Given the choice, we would prefer peace and prosperity to presidential rectitude. But we really want all three, and we think we can have them.
Call it residual puritanism or an overdose of religion if you want, but most Americans think wedding vows are not to be disdained. In recent decades, sexual mores have gotten considerably more relaxed, with one major exception: extramarital affairs. A 2009 Gallup poll found that 92 percent of us think adultery is "morally wrong" -- which presumably means there are a lot more people who commit it than defend it. Only 40 percent of Americans think premarital sex is morally wrong, and only 47 percent say that of homosexual relations.
So Barney Frank's career survived his romp with a male prostitute, while John Edwards' fling with a campaign aide made him politically radioactive. Sex without marriage is OK. Sex in violation of marriage is not.
Why not? Because adultery, unlike a frisky bachelor lifestyle, connotes a reckless dishonesty at odds with our basic notions of integrity. Because it shows a lack of respect for the most important commitment that most of us will ever make. Because it indicates that the adulterer will always place his selfish desires above those who depend on him.
There is a cost to this approach, obviously. It disqualifies some smart, dedicated and able people merely because they suffer a single flaw -- and one that apparently is pretty common among the politically ambitious.
But so what? A talented executive can expect to lose her position for a single act of embezzlement. An outstanding journalist may be banished from his profession for one incident of plagiarism.
Of course, those lapses bear directly on how the offenders do their jobs, which is not the case with a governor who strays. But we don't vote for CEOs or newspaper reporters, which means they don't embody our higher aspirations. Americans think those elected to positions of public trust should have enough regard for the public to conduct themselves in an honest, upright way even in matters unrelated to their official duties.
Is it naive of us to believe that a politician who keeps his commitments to his wife will also keep his commitments to us? Probably. But not as naive as thinking that if he betrays her, he'll treat us any better.
It is only political suicide for Republicans/Conservatives, NOT for DemonRATs/Leftists.
The DemonRATs can be caught in any perverted dalliance, or any violation of any law, and they can and will be re-elected without any problem.
That’s mostly because the DemonRAT Press can exploit the hypcrisy of the Republicans/Conservatives whose are SUPPOSED to be HONEST and FAITHFUL.
Once a Republican/Conservative is exposed as dishonest/unfaithful, they lose the support of their base and assure the election of a DemonRAT/Leftist in their place.
Also when a democrat apologizes, he doesn’t have to be sincere and doesn’t have to ask for forgiveness
Clinton is a Democrat.
Sanford is a Republican.
That’s the difference.
But you can’t completely blame the media.
The real blame rests at the feet of Republican voters.
Democrats don’t care. Republicans do.
Democrats don’t get punished by their voters for moral failures.
Republicans do.
Perhaps Republican voters should put good governance as a higher priority than moral example, which has no effect on the laws they pass and the taxes they levy.
But for now, this is how Republicans choose to arrange their priorities.
In many ways, you could say they play right into the hands of Democrats, who follow Saul Alinsky’s lesson to “make the enemy live up to its own book of rules,” selectively exploiting the human weaknesses of Republicans.
Come on man!
At least Clinton had the common decency to do it in the WH rather than spend tax payer money and go all the way to a 3rd world country like Argentina or Arkansas!!!
Steve Chapman on townhall.com?
The man was a decent moderate/moderate-right columnist until he caught a serious case of BDS.
And now he’s on townhall? Wierd.
Which leaves God out of the equation; which you are allowed to do, of course. We can, indeed, simply concentrate on man made law and simply ignore His laws.
We've gotten pretty good at that, come to think of it.
It is only political suicide for Republicans/Conservatives, NOT for DemonRATs/Leftists.Yeah. I kept waiting for the writer to get around to this NUMBER ONE FACT ABOUT POLITICS AND ADULTERY.
It's true, Edwards seems to be an exception... but I think the rats were looking for a reason to dump Edwards anyway. He was standing in the path of the Magic Messiah.
But the MSM does not cover Democratic scandals,
since NBC,ABC,CBS,Fox,PBS each support the coup d'etat against the American people.
Once again, the Lamestream-Mainstream Media GETS IT ALL WRONG! They get it wrong when they think UOx42 was impeached for his affair. He was impeached for committing perjury and suborning perjury.
Sanford isn't being disqualified for his latina dance. He is disqualified for the weird way he acted during this latest pas de deux. If he had merely told one of his staff to field all calls, that he is out-of-the-country pursuing some personal business, all would have been well. Well not with Mrs. Sanford, but that isn't our business. But this Appalachian trail not Appalachian trail, well-where-is-he nonsense is really weird. Just weird.
And that is why I won't vote for him.
Conservatives would be smart to adopt this approach.
only for the Republicans it seems?
And it proves what an untrustworthy person you can be. The DEMS don’t care but the DEMS are the ones drawing up down the tubes.
I wish he had not used that example. From what I've read, the "evidence" of Eisenhower having an affair (allegedly with his a member of his staff) is pretty thin. I don't think it is right to lump him in with Roosevelt and JFK. I suspect the author wanted to name a Republican President for balance, and just didn't want to reach all the way back to Harding.
Incidentally, from what I've read, LBJ's adultery made JFK seem celibate in comparison.
I have posted quite a few editorial by Steve Chapman from townhall.com. I think he has been there for quite a while
This is timeless: If a guy’s wife can’t trust him, how can I?
You said — Once a Republican/Conservative is exposed as dishonest/unfaithful, they lose the support of their base and assure the election of a DemonRAT/Leftist in their place.
—
Ummmm..., I guess that means the GOP should start running “honest” Republicans, then... for a change... LOL...
Sanford’s career is in all likelihood is finished while a killer is revered a leader in the Senate. Need I say more.
...”But the MSM does not cover Democratic scandals,
since NBC,ABC,CBS,Fox,PBS each support the coup d’etat against the American people”...
You have provided the answer. Americans did not learn about the JFK’s serial adultery until he was dead. The media knew but covered it up. And, what about Chappaquidict? We now live in a cesspool of immorality and corruption, coming mostly from the left and Americans will awaken sooner or later..I hope for sooner.
They also do not report anything about Larry Sinclair.
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