How The Spitzer Sex Scandal Could Help Hillary

A woman president is not going to be Client 9 of the Emperor's Club VIP sex service.

A woman president is not going to get arrested for soliciting sex in a rest room at the Minneapolis airport.

A woman president is not going to be caught sending hot text messages to young congressional pages.

Many voters may find these arguments persuasive in the wake of the Elliot Spitzer story: if you want to avoid losing your leaders to sex scandals, vote for a woman.

The voters most likely to be persuaded by this argument are, of course, women. And there are a lot of women voters in the Democratic primaries yet to come, and among the superdelegates.

The notion that Hillary could benefit from the Spitzer scandal goes against the conventional wisdom in the blogosphere today, which holds that it hurts Hillary because, as Matt Yglesias wrote, it will "make people worry about the fact that putting Bill Clinton back in the White House seems to raise the possibility of once again having a Democratic administration derailed by a sex scandal."

To say that many voters might find Hillary more appealing at this point is not to say that Barack Obama or John McCain is likely to be caught in a sex scandal. Either possibility seems extremely unlikely.

Of course it also seemed extremely unlikely that Elliot Spitzer would be caught violating the Mann Act.

The question is not whether we will see new revelations, but whether disgust over Spitzer's destruction of his career will lead some voters to look to a woman for freedom from sex scandals.

Comments

[nypoet22]

an interesting point. you know, they've already tried to pin sex scandals on obama. if you search it on youtube you'll find the lies as well as the proof that they're false. but facts never got in the way of right wing smear campaigns before, so how long can it be before fox runs a story?

[klondiker]

True freedom means the freedom to be moral and freedom to be immoral.

The day a woman president can have a sex scandal, and be looked at in the same way as a man, we will have achieved gender equality in the United States.

[JXB]

Let's hope that freedom from blunderous preemptive wars, impertinent authorizations to go to war, defense spending waste, lobbyist influenced public policy, cronyism, and executive action harmful to the country and its democratic institutions will figure far higher in the voters minds than freedom from sex scandals.

[Dave01]

I'm surprised that she she hasn't actually pointed her finger at Obama and said it wasn't Spitzer it was him! Oh that's right, she'll probably call the skit writers over at SNL to do that for her! They seem to have endorsed her at this point!

[RallyRound]

I think that if you asked the Clinton campaign if they were at all happy by the Spitzer affair, the answer would be a "no."

The idea that she is helped the situation points to the idea that she is best known as the woman who stood by her man, not the strong politician who she is.

[JAJ2007]

I agree with your premise that a woman is less likely to be caught in a sex scandal. Part of that is that to date, I don't know of any prominent women politicians who have been.

However, to translate this into a positive for Clinton is a stretch. If she had divorced Bill - THEN this would be a positive for her. However, a sex scandal is going to make people think about Bill - his peccadillos, the blue dress, the impeachment, etc (ick ick ick) Granted - this is not fair to Hillary, since Spitzer's problems have NOTHING to do with her. However, the media connected these dots within a few hours - and they are still talking about the parallels. This can't be seen as a net positive for her - since a "bimbo eruption" by Bill at this point would sink her candidacy (or her administration). And frankly, I think this combination / comparison would have been made even if Spitzer hadn't been a super delegate for Clinton, but that certainly didn't help.

For the record - I don't see this as a positive for Obama either... I think this is a MESS for the democratic candidate (whichever of them becomes the nominee.)

[timetraveler2039]

Watching the pain and agony on Mrs. Spitzer's face yesterday, and remembering the Tammy Wynette performance of Hillary Clinton when she stood by her man -- surely you JEST!!!!

[NABNYC]

This is wonderfully ironic: the Clintons accusing others of probably intending to have sex outside of marriage and therefore being unfit for office?? What's the story here? Hillary's campaign theme will now be: Don't vote for any men. They all screw around, the louses. Vote only for women. None of us like sex. "

Every time Hillary is asked what "challenges" she has faced in her life, and she gets that tee hee look on her face, then says she's known a few "bad boys," I just about barf. Either her husband screwed around without her knowledge or consent and humiliated her, or it's all a big joke. But she seems to change the story as often as she changes campaign themes.

Well, it's a new campaign theme, and she does need a new one every week.

"Experience." "Change." "Vote For Bill. You Liked Him Once." "Commandress in Chief." "I'm white and the other guy isn't." "He's too stupid to be President, so let's make him Vice President."

And now, the one that likely will be picked up in the history books: "Vote for me. I'm female and I don't like sex, and I never use prostitutes." I think it's a winner.

[bccity]

I think your entire post is something you experienced in a dream. It is all conjecture and has nothing to support any of it but if it makes you feel better to rag on Hillary then go for it. It really is not very nice to speak bad about someone behind their back, you know the gossip thing. I will not tell her this time but do not let it happen again.

[WLA]

I disagree with the premise here. Seems more to me like it hurts the Clintons by dragging up old memories. Nice spin, though.

[pigsatthetrough]

Does this mean we need to have a woman on top? Is this going to be why we elect a certain person? What the hell happened to discussing the terrible news that five more US military personnel died yesterday in Iraq?

[AlphaDoc]

Really . . . I had to chuckle at the thought of voting another Clinton into the White House in order to free the American public from the threat of sexual scandal. You can't possibly be serious, Jon.

[MPeter]

What cave do you live in? You do not know about cougars? Hillary is a cougar. Do you even know how old her Egyptian Lesbian lovewr is? the one she has consistently overpaid and rents a condo for, in NY? Get real. Hillary is just as dirty as Bill or Spitzer.

[robXdion]

This is Checkmate,

She's trapped. If she disavows and denounces Spitzer she makes people wonder WHY she stayed with Bill.

If she supports him she risks further looking like less of a feminist and enabler of womanizers in light of supporting and staying with Bill.

No way out.

[2LaneIA]

You assume that Hillary Clinton has been the faithful spouse through years of Bill's philandering. She is now at an age and a public station in life where it is somewhat less likely that she would take a lover. But I do not understand ho0w you can rule that out because she is a she.

[Dave01]

Ya but most of them are probably dead....you have seen the long list of "friends" that have died, right? Oops did I really type that?

[kingfishstew]

Somehow, the hated George Bush made it through without a sex scandal.

[AlphaDoc]

That's only because Mrs. Beasley can't talk.

[Anastasia]

Au contraire. The Eliot Spitzer affair will remind everyone of another politician's notorious sex scandal and downfall.

If Eliot Spitzer stays in office, it will bring back a flood of memories, to when Bill Clinton was fighting tooth and nail, not to be impeached.

If Spitzer resigns, the reaction might be, "why didn't Bill do that?"

There's also the issue of whom they choose to have sex with. While Bill did not go to prostitutes, he did prey on young and vulnerable women, some of whom were his employees, none of whom could be said to be his peer.

Sex with underlings is about having power over the sexual partner. It's the same with prostitutes.

[blueraven]

Please. I beg you. Quit treating the uterus as if it's a Get Out Of Stupidity Free card. It isn't, and if you took a look at the women in your life with a clearer eye, you'd realize that. And I ask that of all Clinton supporters who insist on using her anatomy as a weapon. How can you call yourselves feminists if you're going to pander like that?

[EspritDeVoltaire]

EXCUSE ME, Mr. Spitzer is a Superdelegate who supports Senator Clinton, whom she will not renounce for the same reason. How this could be construed as helping her campaign is an idea more fit for the Entertainment section.

[drmavis]

You're really grasping at straws for some traction for your candidate, aren't you? This argument might actually hold some water if the woman candidate wasn't Hillary Clinton!

[suntzu]

Huma Abedin

[Massconfusion]

Shukran! Exactly.

[V4Vigilance]

It's true that a woman president is unlikely to be caught in any of the situations you mention. The flaw in this argument is that it's unlikely a male president would, either.

I'm wondering if a woman president might get caught having sex with a young intern in a room off the Oval Office? For some reason that seems a more plausible scenario...

LOL

OBAMA 08

[FirstAve]

It will hurt the Clintons. It is a reminder to the country what we are in for if they get anywhere near the White House.

As for the Spitzers? Mrs. Spitzer now has all the qualifications needed to run for the Senator from New York - and she is even from New York!!!!

[batguano]

First of all, NOTHING can help this woman's candidacy! She has betrayed her party, our nation and any progressive that possibly could have even contemplated supporting her. She has used the most demeaning, rascist, personal, deceitful and Atwater/Rovian tactics in her selfish ego-driven pursuit of the presidency. This creature is, in short, truly a "monster"! She is just another corporate shill in a pants suit who will give greedy corporation contributors carte blanch and empower the Pentagons obscene spending at the expense of our nations CIVILIAN priorities and goals. Eisenhower warned against the Military Industrial Complex, and his fears have come true IN SPADES!

Second; This very convenient investigation and embarasment of an admittedly stupid jackass, has the marks of republican dirty tricks all over it. I predict that there will be established a connection with Mukasey's Republican "Justice" Dept and other Repig operatives. This in no way absolves Spitzer from being an ass and a horn, or deceiving his wife or family. It does charge the Repig slime machine and the Mukasey "Justice" Dept with the same tactics and goal as they used when firing the Federal Prosecutors who would not bring specious charges against Dems in election cycles and marginal districts for political advantage, NOT JUSTICE! They Bush/Rep JD also has used inumerable other dirty tricks to foster their fascist vision of America.

Try this Jane Hamsher piece on for size; http://firedoglake.com/2008/03/10/some-questions-about-the-spitzer-incident/

[Kreskytim]

And Obamba is a saint.

[BeeOplentee]

When it comes down to brass tacks, how do you know for certain that Hillary won't engage in the activities you cited?

Think Catherine the Great.

[Justtellthetruth]

Elliot,

Get a grip, my friend. Your succumbing to clinical level "magical thinking" as the result of the stress associated with having your candidate lose, while also having to watch her high profile supporters crumble in a type of disgrace that is shockingly reminiscent of Bills behavior, which, by the way, if the first couple of Arkansas is allowed near the white house again, will be front and center and ripe for international world media coverage again, regardless of Hillary's gender. NO THANKS.

[COwoman]

Ok, I accept your premise.
Now, we have to say that Bill Clinton is there somewhere...isn't he?
Is he flying to Kazakhstan with Frank Giustra?
Is he flying to Brazil to check on investments?
Or is he looking for attention somewhere else?

I don't think the Clinton camapaign wants to bring up her being a safe bet cause SHE knows how to keep her pants up. 'Cause he does not.

[Redmom]

Bill's investment in Brazil is looking nasty. The workers at Brenco
(Yucaipa), a ethanol plant are talking about degrading treatment.
Lack of food and cold.

And, it is only a matter of time that the Whitehouse would be

degraded by Bill in the Whitehouse. He does not keep it home.