Mistresses are the New Fad: For Male Politicians That Is!

Just like those slap bracelets we loved in the 90s it seems that having a mistress or an extramarital affair is catching on quickly in politics.  Engaging in extra-marital relations are not just unique to men, politicians, or the 21st century.  Still it it seems that there has been a plethora of cases with those three elements that have been increasingly exasperating.

Affairs and scandals do not paint a great picture of the political system as a whole.  And even though these are isolated cases when looking at the larger population of politicians, the actions of a few makes it that much harder for the larger population to be looked at with integrity and respect.

Politician or politicking, is a very dirty word to people. And the Mark Sanford situation does little to debunk that bias.

Sanford: he cried on TV and gave an eloquent speech about how he knew that he and the State of South Carolina could move forward and work through this along with his family…but like a relationship, I do not know if you are the man SC needs anymore.  Why? Well if SC was to write out a list of all the good and bad things in the relationship - 

Bad – You left without telling anyone. ANYONE! How can you lead when you cannot cover your bases and identify a visible head who will control day to day operations while you are away?

Bad – You lied not only to SC but to the country!  I may have went to public school, but I am pretty sure that Argentina is not located in the middle of the Appalachian mountains, and the only hiking you were doing was in and out of your mistress’s place.

Bad - You resigned as chair of the Republican Governor’s Association.  I don’t know, in my book if you don’t think you are a good representation for that political position, its probably a good bet you are not a good rep for the state of SC.

Bad – you initially didn’t want to take Federal Stimulus dollars for SC because it wasn’t for the stuff YOU thought SC needed it for, even though there were clearly areas that SC could apply the funding to.

Bad - you didn’t even tell you family where you were!  I mean I know you were leaving to cheat, but it shouldn’t have been that easy for you to abandon your kids for 5 days with no contact. You are not being a good steward of your responsibilities and dependents in your household.  Why are you even talking to SC right now?! Get your house in order.

Bad – you had an affair.  I won’t castigate him on this issue: the other points were questioning his ability to do his job as governor: this is a question of morality.  But the truth of the matter is regardless of the motivations, reasons, or circumstances,  it was an  affair.  Marriage is a commitment, and vows are guarantees broken when having an affair.  It is not unheard of for a politician to be forgiven for affairs, but his job as governor will be that much harder because now there is an instance that where his commitment can be questioned.

Good – ummmm he was elected for a second term?  So I guess he had to do something right to be governor again right?  But then we did elect President Bush for an undeserved second term, so who knows?  I would have to be very familiar with South Carolina politics to know what he has done for his state.

I know being in the public eye is tough, because the same stuff other people do behind closed doors, is the stuff that public figures get outed for and judged for.  It may not be fair, but now that the cat is out, he owes it to SC to step back – not because of morality or immorality of affairs, but because he demonstrated in this situation that he cannot effectively do his job.

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