One of the most striking things about politicians who get caught in a sex scandal is the hypocrisy of their actions—how they do things that are completely opposite of the image they present to voters. Eliot Spitzer both prosecuted and patronized prostitution businesses. Larry Craig both voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and looked …
PETRAEUS SCANDAL: WHO WINS? WHO LOSES?
Sex scandals usually require politicians to find a new career, but that doesn’t always work out so well. Eliot Spitzer didn’t last as a TV commentator, and Gary Condit failed with his ice cream shops. But General Petraeus, ex-director of the CIA, seems to have landed on his feet. As voters no doubt recall from …
CHEATING MEN: IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!
That was evangelist Pat Robertson’s message on The 700 Club last week. Married men can’t really be trusted, Robertson told viewers, and it’s up to each wife to make home so appealing that her man doesn’t want to wander. Robertson’s curious remarks suggested that, with regard to fidelity, men are not responsible for controlling themselves. …
GOOD AND BAD NEWS FOR ANTHONY WEINER
Anthony Weiner must have been heartened by Mark Sanford’s win in the South Carolina primary last week. Voters overcame their reservations about Sanford’s questionable history of cheating on his wife, abandoning his duties as governor, and being censured by the state legislature and returned him to public office. That was the good news. Maybe attitudes …
MARK SANFORD JOINS THE ELITE
After winning a Congressional seat yesterday, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford joined one of the most elite groups in Washington. Along with former Pres. Bill Clinton and Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, Sanford became one of the rare elected officials who cheated on his wife and remained popular with voters. As Gary Hart, Newt Gingrich, …
MORE BAD IDEAS
This week President Obama passed over former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and chose Anthony Foxx for Transportation Secretary. You may remember from an earlier post that Villaraigosa was rumored to be Obama’s pick for that position. Unfortunately for the former mayor, he attended a party in Mexico hosted by Charlie Sheen and had his …
MARK SANFORD’S RISKY BUSINESS
Last week South Carolina voters were surprised to see who their former governor and Congressional primary candidate Mark Sanford brought to his victory party. Sanford’s guest was Maria Belen Chapur, the woman he was having an affair with when he went “hiking the Appalachian Trail” a few years back. That Appalachian Trail episode cost Sanford …
WEINER REWRITES THE RULES – 2
Voters were shocked this week to learn that former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is thinking about running for mayor of New York City. Rumors that Weiner was considering a return to politics have circulated for some time, and last month Politico revealed that Weiner had hired consultants and pollsters. In 2011, Weiner was involved …
ANOTHER BAD IDEA
Last month former Los Angeles mayor Anthony Villaraigosa had to spend a few days explaining how he got his picture taken partying in Cabo San Lucas with Charlie Sheen. That picture of Villaraigosa and Sheen looked like a bad idea and almost certainly will end up in a negative ad when the former mayor runs …
Telling All
In 1928, President Warren Harding’s girlfriend Nan Britton published The President’s Daughter, a book about her affair with Harding and the child he fathered. Some members of Congress were so outraged that they introduced bills to stop the publication of what they called “obscene, filthy, lewd literature.” By modern standards, there was nothing filthy about …
Robert Smither, PhD: Speaking of the Clinton impeachment, here's what John Edwards had to s...
Philip Deaver: Larry Flynt has to be complimented for his sense of humor. He's well ...
dina: I don't understand. Is he still married to his wife, and despite that,...