Okay, you tired of the RWA brouhaha? Me, too. Definitely time to give some other folks what-for!
I didn’t have a topic for today, however, until I heard that South Carolina Governor John Sanford, after being “missing” for several days, then reportedly hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, and then reportedly hiking in Argentina, admitted he’s been having an affair with an Argentinian woman for the last year. This, of course, comes on the heels of the admission of “family-values-lovin'” Republican Senator John Ensign’s affair. The list of other straying politicians is, of course, legion, and includes plenty of Democrats as well as Republicans.
Okay, so, here’s the thing. It’s not really that I care that much whether a politician is getting a little on the side. I mean, from a practical point of view, I don’t see that a politician’s marital fidelity has much bearing his effectiveness as a legislator/executive. It might make him (or her) a total jerk and a lying asshole, but it doesn’t make the person incapable of doing his job.
That said, I do care when the politician in question espouses holier-than-thou positions about morality and values, and then goes out and violates them withough, apparently, the slightest attack of conscience. That’s what’s always gotten to me with the various Republican bigwigs who’ve been caught in extramarital shenanigans; they want the rest of us to live up to standards they themselves cannot adhere to.
Even worse than the politicians, though, are the wives who stand beside them while they confess their sins and apologize to all they’ve “let down” with their behavior. (Actually, I think the only thing they’re sorry for is that they’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.) I threw up a little in my mouth watching Eliot Spitzer’s long-suffering wife make sympathetic eyes at him during the news conference when he announced his resignation, and I couldn’t even bring myself to read the reports after John and Elizabeth Edwards were on Oprah.
So, I’m laying it on the line for the ladies. If your husband cheats on you and you stick with him, that’s your decision. But do NOT expect my sympathy for how you’ve been wronged. Because honestly, if you don’t pitch his sorry ass to the curb, as far as I’m concerned, you either don’t think you’ve been wronged or you don’t care that much. You’ve basically given him tacit approval to do it again…and again…and again. And chances are pretty good, he will.
Yeah, I’m talking to you, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And yanno, staying with the rat bastard was probably in your best interests. It’s just that I think you cared a lot more about becoming President than you did about where he puts his junk, so please don’t pretend otherwise.
Just sayin…WTF?
And I’m out!
P.S. I still love Bill Clinton. I know it is wrong, but…I can’t stop. Probably some sort of disease…
Yeah, these men are scum. Here his wife had FOUR children for him…FOUR. And some are still very very young…
But I will say this: if you read the whole story, his wife knew about this relationship and they supposedly had separated a couple of weeks ago. Which is probably why he felt free to FLY OUT OF THE COUNTRY and not tell anyone where he was going. So I will at least say the guy had the guts to tell his wife the marriage was over and he was leaving, rather than just secretly have an affair behind her back.
I don’t remember this particular politician saying anything specific about ‘family values,’ but I don’t think it matters. No matter which party or what your stance is, having an affair with someone else while still married is just disgusting. If you are that unhappy, get a divorce and keep it in your pants until the papers are signed…
Oh, and personally, as far as affairs and politicians go, I think John Edwards takes the cake…having an affair with another woman while his wife was suffering from cancer. It makes me shudder. What a self-centered bastard.
Hi Jackie,
Couldn’t agree with you anymore about Hilary. I have no respect for her. That she professed to “stand by her man” for love, when we all know it was for her career.
As far as the govenor of SC, I honestly believe that he did fall in love with the woman in Argentina, and if he did I feel bad for everyone involved. It does sound like his wife knew he was having an affair before this last trip, and while in office it probably is not forgiveable to divorce, especially if he has political aspirations, but don’t you think the wife would have given him the heave ho. She must have her reasons (like Hilary?), but if it were me I would file for divorce and let him lay in the bed he made.
Oh, who knows whether the Sanfords’ marriage is over? Apparently Jenny Sanford told him to move out a couple of weeks before this latest escapade.
And, to her credit, she did not show up at his side during the press conference. Or maybe that’s to his credit – I have no idea whether he asked her to be there.
I live in SC, and one interesting factor is that it’s the Republicans who are out for Mark Sanford’s blood. He and the state’s Republican establishment have been at each other’s throats for years now.
The Democrats just cast their eyes up, piously, and talk about how tragic this is for his family. SCORE!!