Sex in High Places

No, I'm not talking about the Mile High Club, whose members boast of having had sex while flying 30,000 feet above the earth.

I'm talking about those prominent public figures whose hanky-panky hits the headlines every now and then, evoking gales of ridicule, outrage, bewilderment, and scorn.

My question arises, of course, following the Eliot Spitzer scandal in New York. You know the story: the governor was in office just over a year when it was discovered he was spending tens of thousands of dollars on the services of a 22-year old prostitute -- a high school drop-out, a former drug addict, and wannabe singer.

Putting aside the governor's monetary extravagance and weird sexuality, we may examine the fallout from this peccadillo. Politically, it was the end of his public career. Domestically, it might be the end of his marriage. But Silda, his 50-year old year wife, stood stoically by his side when he proferred his excuses and resignation. Why?

Why, whenever this sort of thing happens, does the little woman appear with the marital culprit, almost as contrite as he? Why does she submit herself to public exposure and humiliation? She already has it hard enough at home, just getting up in the morning and embracing her kids. What is to be saved from her husband's career, or her marriage, from this sham show of "solidarity"?

We have never, ever, had the reverse situation: a wife who has been cheating on her husband, and he stands by her as the disclosure is made public. Why not? Are women more clever about their affairs, or are they more faithful to begin with? Or is it simply that they are never in such high public office that such infidelities are deemed important?

Maybe it;s a combination of all three. Still, I'd like to see it happen: an outstanding, well-known female who is discovered to have a boy-toy, and as she tearfully faces the media, her husband is standing by her side, smiling bravely, the ever-faithful cuckold.

Now that would make news!

Meanwhile, I am also wondering why Americans make such a fuss over sexual conduct. Bill Clinton was impeached because he lied about it. New York Republicans threatened to impeach Spitzer if he didn't resign. But impeachment in the American Constitution is based on serious public wrongdoing: treason, for example. Certainly not on mistresses or call girls. Otherwise, we could have impeached a dozen or more presidents, from Jefferson to Eisenhower to FDR to Kennedy. (And it happens, I say in all amazement, that our sexiest presidents were probably our best ones. Lincoln was an exception.....but who knows? Carter doesn't count, in any case, because he only had "lust" in his heart.)

So let us now pray that Silda gets a whopping good settlement, that Elliot gets a steady job as a court stenographer, and that our next sex scandal involves a woman.

Comments

[jungpatawan]

Sex and Eliot Spitzer's ego? That IS the Mile High Club!
JP

[Sir681]

You know what I'd like to see? I’d absolutely love to see one of these persons, anybody, come out and say that they are not answering any questions about their personal lives, no matter what. Why do we insist on examining a person's private life to determine their ability to do a job? Who cares if they are sleeping with half a dozen women, two men and the neighbour's dog? The notion that if they cheat on their wives then they cannot be trusted to perform public duties is rubbish! If we are going to examine their private lives, why stop at sex? If a person fails at a relationship, then they are failures and are not qualified? If a guy says he's going to call, knowing that he will not, then he is a liar and cannot be trusted? Or, if a woman tells her date that she enjoyed herself, knowing that the date sucked, then she's also a liar and shouldn’t hold public office? Or a parent telling a child that everything is going to be okay, knowing fully well that they have absolutely no control over the situation, they are being dishonest and should not be trusted? You get the drift. A job is a job, and it doesn't matter if it is a president, a mayor, a mechanic, a programmer, a governor or a garbage man. Their qualifications, experience and performance in that job is what is important and not whom they are sleeping with.

[AnninCA]

I think the answer is simple. Americans are highly hypocritical about sex. We are simply still very puritanical.

[johnnygoodwud]

joan it's not the offense they committed, it's that when questioned underoath, they lied. look at the major of detroit, that dude is probably going to jail, not because he cheated on his wife, but because he lied to a grand jury. that's what put martha stewart in the slammer. look at clinton, he lied to the american people, which to me is a huge character flaw. what else did he, and continues to lie to us about? it's all about character

[krnewman]

lying under oath is indeed very serious.

[dukewhitey]

Look, the entire Spitzer thing was a political hit job. Just look at who leaked his name to the FBI's investigation. It was Republican Rat-F@#ing, a political term coined by Bob Woodward. Spitzer was the most outspoken of the critics of Bush's economic policy, especially in regard to the whole sup-prime debacle. Read the Op-Ed about it he wrote just two weeks before his name was (illegally) leaked the news media.

[cognate]

I've given up trying to make sense out of a country where the phrases "war on drugs", "war on poverty" and "war on terror" are accepted at face value.

[oafishcad]

They stand by their man because they love them and have a contract (marriage) that is only revocable by death. (til death do us part). I realize many men and women do not fulfill the details of their marriage contract, the person who strays for example, but those who do are to be admired.

[lucylou]

Check your figures. Lincoln doesn't seem to be much of an exception, either. I say, we all start taking the Vice Governor (is that the right term?!) who replaced Spitzer...­get it out, and get it over with. And for the wives? I say, he didn't need you so much when he was out galavanting around town...her certainly doesn't have to have you when he's been found out about it.