Others, with their lawyers, deny the allegations.With heightened tension on the US political scene due to the upcoming presidential election, we recently saw two very high-profile examples of both cases. On the denial front was Senator John McCain, unofficially the Republican presidential nominee, while the confession line was represented by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat. Both of them took their supposedly supportive wives before the cameras as part of a painful political theatrical custom here.
Senator McCain was trying to prove wrong the premise of a recent New York Times article which suggested that he had had an inappropriate financial and romantic relationship with Vicki Iseman, a lobbyist. On the other hand, caught by police, Governor Spitzer confessed to cheating on his wife and letting his constituency down by paying thousands of dollars to a prostitution ring.
Covering Washington sometimes turns out like watching the movie “Crash.” Events and people are very interconnected, whether directly or indirectly. When it was revealed that former President Bill Clinton had an inappropriate relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which resulted in a lengthy impeachment process, he said the following famous quote: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Senator McCain did not repeat those exact words, but did essentially say the same thing. He maintained he was only friends with Iseman, but the prospects stemming from the NY Times investigation worried him so much he had to hire an expensive Washington lawyer, Bob Bennett. Interestingly, Bennett had represented Bill Clinton in his Paula Jones sexual harassment case, as well. What a small world, isn’t it?
While Senator McCain has been taking necessary precautions to prevent his party and campaign from crashing, Governor Spitzer’s actions has already caused a crash for the Democratic Party with potential damage to presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton, who was a victim of her husband’s sexual escapades. As if her gender is not a big enough problem already in the eyes of some white male voters, a white male governor from the state she represents has made life a little difficult for Mrs. Clinton. Thanks to the media, jokingly or seriously, people were immediately reminded of President Clinton’s affairs. Dealing with a cheating husband is not necessarily the right type of experience that Clinton has been advocating as her major advantage over her contender, Barack Obama. I am sure these days Clinton wishes she could borrow Obama’s slogan for change and change the subject immediately.
Times change, but politicians’ behavior often remains the same. Everyone knows sex is a very important component of overall corruption in the US capital. But one needs nothing short of a new prophet to be able to change that dramatically. No wonder many people find Obama’s calls for change and hope sexy, but not realistic enough.
In a nation where sexual fidelity is rapidly declining, it would be unfair to expect the rulers to be completely innocent. In fact, I believe the majority of American people are uninterested in the private sex lives of their elected representatives. What they look for most is their integrity and trustworthiness. They usually punish politicians not because of personal sins, but as a result of their public sins such as cheating the public by misrepresenting facts or breaking laws which they promise to enforce. Governor Spitzer’s case is a perfect example to that kind of misconduct. He was a strong advocate of ethics in politics but did the exact opposite of what he preached.
Seeing the deficiencies in American political culture, I am not very optimistic that calls for either change or experience would make a substantial difference in the way the system of government works. Rome was Rome. Washington is Washington. Desire for power and sex will continue to dominate this town, like many other imperial capitals, in the foreseeable future. I can hear politicians saying “Let he who is without sin cast the first vote.” They are right. Neither voters nor elected officials can be angels. That is why democracy is not a heavenly regime but a system trying to achieve relative good. Let the relatively better candidate win then.
