Hot Topic: When Sex Meets Politics

(CBS/ AP)

Two weeks ago, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Nevada Sen. John Ensign were rising stars in the Republican Party, a pair of politicians believed to be contenders for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

Today – at least according to the conventional wisdom – those prospects, and quite possibly their political careers, have been diminished.

The reason, of course, is sex. Sanford's surreal disclosure of an affair with a woman from Argentina and Ensign's admission of an affair with a staffer were the latest headline fodder for a nation that has been fed a steady diet of political sex scandals in the past few years.

Here's a far-from-incomplete list of some other recent offenders: Bill Clinton. Rudy Giuliani. Jim McGreevey. Mark Foley. Newt Gingrich. Gavin Newsom. David Vitter. Larry Craig. Eliot Spitzer. John Edwards.

(Photos: Politicians Who Have Cheated)

Some of these men (and you'll note they're all men) have survived their scandals. Clinton emerged bruised but not broken from his impeachment proceedings. Vitter looks likely to be reelected to the Senate despite being outed as a client of the D.C. Madam. Newsom, who as San Francisco mayor had an affair with a top aide, is gearing up for a run for California governor. Gingrich's 2007 admission of an extramarital affair in the 1990s was quickly all-but-forgotten.

And some did not. Spitzer resigned from the New York governorship in disgrace. Then-New Jersey governor McGreevey resigned as well, though he salvaged some respectability with his "gay American" speech. A scandal involving instant messages and male teenage pages ended Foley's career. Larry Craig managed to stick it out in the Senate after his arrest for lewd conduct in a men's airport restroom, but did not run for reelection.

A sex scandal, then, is not an automatic career ender. But it is also not something that can be simply shrugged off, as is the case in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. French President Nicolas Sarkozy's active personal life did not diminish his election prospects; Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is presently weathering a mini-storm over an alleged inappropriate relationship with a teenage girl, the sort of scandal that would have been almost impossible for an American politician to survive.

But what, exactly, is it that Americans really care about? Is it the sex? The unfaithfulness? The hypocrisy? Or something else?

Let's look at the two most recent examples for guidance. The emerging conventional wisdom seems to be that Ensign – who followed the traditional script of apologizing profusely and then staying silent – seems more likely than Sanford to move on from his scandal. While both men are Republicans with conservative social views, Ensign is more open to charge of hypocrisy; a Promise Keeper who labeled Craig a "disgrace" and railed against Clinton, he built his name in large part by espousing the very values that his actions contradicted. (Not that Sanford is exactly exempt from such charges, having voted to impeach Clinton.)

And yet Ensign's admission of an affair has elicited sympathy in the chummy Senate and little outrage nationwide. Though liberals delighted in noting his hypocrisy, it does not seem to have resonated with the electorate at large. (While Ensign's approval is down in Nevada, it still bests that of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.)

Sanford, by contrast, seems to be in far more trouble, in part because of the weirdness of his scandal, as Andy Barr noted on Washington Unplugged -- the mysterious disappearance, the Argentine mistress, the tearful press conference. Unlike Ensign's rote admission, the Sanford affair made the governor seem all-too-human. Sanford discussed his mistress not as a "mistake" but as a person, talked openly about his personal struggles, and acknowledged that he essentially fled his job in frustration.

Is it possible, then, that it's not the sex, not the hypocrisy, and not the unfaithfulness brings down a scandal-plagued politician, but instead this exposure of his warts-and-all humanity? The revelations about Foley and Craig painted a portrait, accurate or not, of sad, desperate men who couldn't come to terms with who they are. Spitzer tried to follow the traditional damage-control script but his heart, along with his wife's, didn't seem to be in it. Sanford offered a heartfelt accounting of his struggles – and one could sense the Washington establishment shifting uncomfortably in their seats in response.

Ensign's strategy of an apology followed by silence allows a politician to maintain his status as somewhat larger-than-life, someone whose exposure to the emotional tumult familiar to many Americans has been effectively contained. To deviate from that script – even if it's simply to tell the whole truth – might ultimately be more perilous for a politician than the actions that got them in trouble in the first place.

This is obviously something of an oversimplification: Every politician's scandal is different, and no one overarching theory can explain exactly how each plays out. That said, the question of why we care – and why some, but not others, emerge from scandal – is worth exploring. And so Hotsheet wants to know: What do you think? Let us know below.

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by whosaid1 June 26, 2009 9:58 AM EDT: If hypocrisy were a reason to "hire" or "fire" politicians....there would be NO politicians....period!! They are all hypocrites....both parties!! That is just the way it is in American politics... But, the issue is, some are held accountable for their hypocrisy...others aren't. Why ?? Because the majority of the electorate...shares the same flaw...they are hypocrites !! You just can't demand certain behavior by the "other" party and not expect it from "your" party....otherwise you are just as big of a hypocrite. Yeah, yeah...I know you extremist will use your "special" logic to justify why it's the "other" party that is "more" guilty....; Reply to this comment


by scwife June 26, 2009 9:56 AM EDT: My first thought was what was he thinking. I now have a more human feeling...obviously he loves this woman. After seeing how distraught the gov was at his press converence. It was so clear where his heart lies. This has no reflection on his current wife or family. Love chooses us not we choose love. I say go Mark go...to Argentina. Too often we stay out of duty, I say follow you heart.; Reply to this comment


by toldyouso29 June 26, 2009 9:40 AM EDT: All politicians lie to get into office and to stay in office. But one barometer about how they view integrity and keep promises is how they conduct themselves in their private lives.

1. If a person does not respect themselves, they certainly cannot respect others.

2. If a person does not honor or respect their vows and lacks the conviction and honesty to end those vows rather than betray them--you have to wonder how they can honor or respect promises made to the public and what lengths they would go to retain their position. After all, if you can betray a person you know intimately how much easier is it to betray those you do not know?

3. A cheater is a liar by extension. Because in order to "cheat" one must deceive and pretend one set of circumstances while advancing a different agenda. A liar is capable of anything. Those who can cheat their most personal base, would have no compunction in cheating others who are not as close

4. Nobody likes a hypocrite and only other hypocrites defend other hypocrites. The reason Republicans catch more flak for affairs and sexual issues with gays is the fact that ride the self righteous and sanctimonious horse of morality and declare their version should be the law of the land.

When they rail against homosexuality then are caught dallying with males...when they push for destruction of a President and rail against adultery and are caught doing the very same things...when they castigate others for corruption then are caught in ethic or corruption the screws are uglier.

Because by then, the public not only wants to punish for the deed--they seek retribution for the daring to be or act "holier than thou" There is a true sense that redeemed or not..forgiven or not--that this person who judged others and campaigned on their piety deserves to have their face rubbed in their own sins until the skin is scraped off.

Democrats rush to it with glee, Independents watch in disgust and it is left to the base to either repudiate or defend and accept the actions of their former hero. The facts that may make both Ensign and Sanford fold will not be polls or what they did--it will be their judgment of Clinton or others re-run over and over again during the election season, until even if "Ensign is strangely silent" most will despise him for the hypocrite that he is and will want to not vote for him for fear of rewarding such hypocrisy and thereby becoming hypocrites, or enablers of that kind of behavior themselves.; Reply to this comment


by johndevinejr June 26, 2009 8:40 AM EDT: For me there are two issues involved with adultery. The first is the fundamental dishonesty of lying to the person who should be your best friend in the world, your wife.

The second is the hypocrisy. Democrats seem to get hammered less than republicans. I think that is because they don't put themselves up on such a sanctimonious pedestal.
I find the whole posture of Family Values, Sanctity of Marriage, Religious Righteousness by republicans to be very offensive in the first place, because it appears to be pompous and arrogant, and not in the least believable.

So when the hypocrite is exposed, he gets what he deserves.; Reply to this comment

by tmittelstaed June 26, 2009 3:52 AM EDT

I think it's way too early to make assumptions that politicians like Ensign and Vitter are going to escape the consequences of their actions. Claims that Clinton and Gingrich didn't suffer long term damage are false - neither of those politicians has ever tried running again. If you look at most politicians involved in sex scandals, while many of them may survive the initial calls for resignation, very few win re-election.

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by johndevinejr June 26, 2009 8:45 AM EDT: It seems that the more sanctimonious they are in public, the sleazier they are in real life.
Take Noot for example, he brought divorce papers to his wife while she was in the intensive care unit in the hospital. A demonstration of his empathy and compassion for his wife. It gives you insight into what kind of person he really is.


by licht1 June 25, 2009 7:11 PM EDT: Oh great. First the Republicans ruin the US economy, now they're even outsourcing adultery.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/gop-governor-outsources-adultery/; Reply to this comment

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