Crazy Pants: Why Do High-Profile Politicians Cheat on Their Wives?
By Pat Racimora on August 12, 2009 at 12:15 PM in Current Affairs
Eliot Spitzer was my superhero. He cleaned up corruption, seemingly in a single bound. I was sure his impeccable ethics could eventually restore our democracy. He was decent and loyal to the higher road—at least from the neck up.
We in the United States are particularly edgy about our politicians’ private behavior when it comes to who is doing what with whom sexually. Frolicking about in the Oval Office almost brought down a sitting President. Some high-profile unfaithful politicians survive. Some bounce mostly back after a bit of down time. But careers have been permanently chopped off in their prime due to libidinal leakage.
So, why do these guys risk losing their mates, their kids, and their high powered careers for romps in the hay? (I could find only one female scandal, so we’re talking about men here.)
There may be as many reasons as to why politicians stray as there are sex scandals, but here are a few that have been bantered about.
1. High risk-taking and extreme power-seeking. This pair of bad boys are part of an ambitious person’s make-up. The two together add up to “I can do whatever I want.” Unfortunately, they may not perceive that a downside may follow after they do it.
2. Narcissism. Add a big dose of self-importance and ego and you find the Achilles heel when it comes to satisfying sexual needs, whatever they might be. Politicians (and actors) are drawn to their professions. They want to be adored, they feel entitled, and if their careers are successful, the temptations will be there. Cheating politicians may not get their need for attention and adoration at home. The kids and the cat could care less who they are. Even the wife may not be all that impressed. She, after all, actually knows his less alluring side, like how he throws his dirty underwear in the middle of the bathroom floor and farts after eating broccoli.
3. Denial. Entering into a state that blocks the ability to understand and appreciate the potential consequences of actions is something we all have to fight. And passion has a way of pushing rational thinking under the bus. Ruth Houston writing for the American Chronicle suggests that politicians cheat because of the knowledge that they can get away with it. I disagree. I don’t think they get that far in their thinking, and if they did they would also know that the National Enquirer may be close by.
4. Stress. The inevitable pressures accompanying a politician’s job could drive some to want to sneak off to somewhere that bears no resemblance to the drudge of campaigning, or being among people who want something from you but are unwilling to give anything back unless their wishes are fulfilled, or just to get away from the din for a while. Taking a hike in the Appalachians–for real–is not always the kind of choice they make.
5. Tensions at home. Politicians may relish in the limelight, but the family often suffers in ways that could easily cause estrangement. Ironically, Eliot Spitzer was promptly replaced by David Patterson who beat the press to the punch by quickly confessing his own multiple indiscretions during a rocky period in his marriage. For whatever reason, that didn’t make much of a blip. Perhaps it is because his wife, Michelle, was having dalliances of her own. I guess they canceled each other out.
6. Being alone. Politicians are away a lot. Many leave their families back home for weeks or more at a time. Seeking intimacy in unwise places can happen when the nights become too lonely and cold.
7. Men will be men. Well, that’s a simple answer, but maybe there is something to it. Even though there are not as many women in high places (yet), there is apparently only one sex scandal involving a high-level female politician. Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-Idaho, 1994-2000) admitted to an earlier long-term affair. In any event, if “men will be men” is the reason, maybe they should choose another career, as long as they live in this country anyway. Was San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, with an eye on the California governorship, genetically incapable of refraining from cheating with one of his campaign staff’s wives?
(The reason I selected only one photo with the wife included is because I couldn’t get her lovely but agonized face out of my mind for the longest time.)
The media just loves a good scandal and will follow up on any lead, be it lurking around a hotel in an attempt (ultimately successful) to bag presidential hopeful (and ex-Vice Presidential candidate) John Edwards, or rushing to an airport to greet Governor Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina) on his return from a rendezvous with his Argentinean lover. You can run but you can no longer hide from a lust-thirsty media. (Serious news that affects all of our lives seems to have taken a back seat to anything even remotely sleazy.)
Finally, have more Republicans been caught with their pants down than Democrats? It seems so, probably because the Republicans are always touting family values, so it may feel like a longer fall when one of them one plops on his ass. There seems to be so many: Rudy Giuliani, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, David Vitter, John Ensign, Bob Livingston, Jack Ryan, and so on. But, according to a count by Newsweek’s Katie Connolly, it is about even. We have to add in Jim McGreevey, Gary Condit, Gary Hart, and Tim Mahoney, as additional examples of Democrats.
The overall rate of known incidents is much higher since the year 2000, but the reason is unclear. Are male politicians getting friskier, or is the press more fascinated with what goes on behind closed doors? After all, we have heard of affairs by previous presidents after they had long since passed. There seemed to be a time when one’s personal life was apparently off limits, no matter who one was.
In the meantime, it’s ironic to note what does NOT apparently bother the majority of American voters when it comes to judging character. Consorting with ultimately convicted felons and self-admitted domestic terrorists, for example, is perceievd of as insignificant.
by Ronald Scott
* More novels by 
* 
(
)
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
