{"id":4289,"date":"2011-05-26T08:51:21","date_gmt":"2011-05-26T12:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=4289"},"modified":"2011-06-01T08:50:17","modified_gmt":"2011-06-01T12:50:17","slug":"are-men-and-their-sex-drives-a-political-liability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2011\/05\/26\/are-men-and-their-sex-drives-a-political-liability\/","title":{"rendered":"Are men (and their sex drives) a growing political liability?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

An endangered species in American politics?<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1973, Henry Kissinger told the New York Times that power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.\u00a0 Wishful thinking on the part of one of Washington’s least charismatic power brokers?\u00a0 Maybe.<\/p>\n

But his words have turned out to be a Cassandra-like prophecy for a growing cadre of male politicians, who have fallen prey to their own sexual desires.<\/p>\n

In the process, they’ve destroyed or crippled their careers, while severely damaging their parties and their causes.<\/p>\n

Former Democratic high-flyer John Edwards was once a serious contender for the White House and a leading voice advocating for poor and middle class families.<\/p>\n

He now faces the possibility of Federal charges<\/a>, following reports that he may have misspent campaign funds to cover up his extra-marital affair and the birth of his out-of-wedlock child.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has seen his political and media empire implode in recent days, following disclosure that he fathered a child out of wedlock just before taking office.<\/p>\n

The laundry list of bipartisan peccadilloes is so long that it’s tedious, from Bill Clinton — who was impeached following his White House indiscretions — to Newt Gingrich, who was conducting his own illicit affair while attacking Clinton.<\/p>\n

At first blush, this kind of indiscretion can seem sort of ridiculous, a tabloidesque sideshow.<\/p>\n

But over the last couple of decades, the accelerating pace of sex scandals has literally changed the course of American political history.<\/p>\n

In 1988, Gary Hart was a frontrunner for the Democratic presidential ticket, when his affair with Donna Rice was<\/p>\n

\"Could<\/a>

Could he have been President Hart?<\/p><\/div>\n

revealed.\u00a0 (Remember that infamous photograph of the pair of them sitting aboard the “Monkey Business” yacht?)<\/p>\n

In 1998, House Speaker Bob Livingston stepped down after admitting to an extramarital affairs.<\/p>\n

More recently, two prominent and fast-rising Democratic governors — Eliot Spitzer from New York and Jim McGreevey from New Jersey — were driven from office following revelations of sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, was a leading spokesman for conservative causes until it was revealed that he had taken a secret trip overseas to see his mistress.\u00a0 Sanford didn’t seek reelection.<\/p>\n

Nevada Sen. John Ensign was recently forced to resign following disclosure that he carried on an affair with the wife of a staffer and may have violated ethics laws to cover up the relationship.<\/p>\n

I think it’s also fair to argue that affairs of the heart have already reshaped the upcoming 2012 presidential race.<\/p>\n

If Gingrich and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani weren’t carrying hefty baggage from their past indiscretions (Giuliani’s ex-wife once accuse him of “notorious infidelity”)\u00a0 the GOP’s presidential field would look significantly stronger.<\/p>\n

Female politicians, of course, aren’t immune to temptations of the flesh.\u00a0 In 1998, conservative Republican congresswoman Helen Chenoweth, from Idaho, acknowledged carrying on an affair.<\/p>\n

During her recent bid for the governor’s mansion in South Carolina, Nikki Haley faced nagging allegations of infidelity.\u00a0 (She denied the charges and eventually won.)<\/p>\n

And it appears that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels decided not to run for president next year in part because of his wife’s complicated domestic history.\u00a0 (Cheri Daniels divorced her husband for four years in the 1990s and was briefly married to another man.)<\/p>\n

But by and large, women seem far less susceptible to this sort of distraction.<\/p>\n

There is even some indication that political leaders have begun looking to women as candidates because they are a safer bet, especially in the wake of scandals.<\/p>\n

The NY-26 special election, held last week, followed the resignation of Rep. Chris Lee.\u00a0 Though married, Lee emailed a racy photograph of himself to a woman he met on Craigslist.<\/p>\n

Is it any surprise that Republicans and Democrats both fielded women candidates to battle for Lee’s seat, with Democrat Kathy Hochul eventually winning?<\/p>\n

The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, is looking for a top executive to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the top French politician who is accused of raping a hotel maid in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

Slate magazine<\/a> points out this morning that the top candidate to lead the IMF is a woman.<\/p>\n

In the crass terms of identity politics, the IMF could hardly pick anyone better. Lagarde is a woman, of course. Moreover, she is a multilingual, teetotaling, vegetarian yoga enthusiast\u2014an ascetic, in welcome contrast to the pathologically indulgent [Strauss-Kahn].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Over time, this kind of self-immolation among male politicians could give more and more women a shot at real political power.<\/p>\n

Finally, it’s worth observing that one of President Barack Obama’s chief assets going into next year’s campaign is his steady and stable family life.<\/p>\n

“Character” and “family values” used to be major talking point for Republicans attacking Democrats.\u00a0 That will be a tough line to take next year, with more than sixty percent of voters approving of Mr. Obama personally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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