Does Cheating Matter Anymore?

Ross Perot was once asked about his policy of firing employees found to have cheated on their spouses. The question came up in the context of his criticism of then Governor Bill Clinton. Perot said simply “The way I look at it is if your wife can’t trust you, why should I.” It’s a good thing the Perot philosophy isn’t law or a lot of politicians would be out of work. Last week South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford blew up his family and career when it was discovered he’s slipped off to Argentina to rendezvous with a woman not his wife.
Sanford apparently told his staff he was going hiking on the Appalachian Trail when in fact he flew to Buenos Aries. As a friend of mine said “I didn’t realize the Appalachian trail went that far south.” Sanford’s behavior and lame explanation brought to mind Jay Leno’s famous question of actor Hugh Grant shortly after he was caught with a transvestite hooker in Los Angeles. “What were you thinking?”
You have to wonder what Sanford’s thought process was. Did he think no one would find it odd that the governor of a state simply vanished and nobody had any way of contacting him? It was especially ironic because the republican Sanford loved beating the family values drum and was highly critical of Bill Clinton’s womanizing. In fact, there was considerable speculation Sanford was going to run for president in 2012. He can kiss that baby good-bye.
The revelation that Sanford cheated on his wife put yet another brick in the wall of public cynicism about our so-called leaders. Fidelity and truthfulness have become an increasingly rare attribute in politicians. Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer are just a few high profile names associated with a sex scandal. Those are just some of the politicians we know fooled around. Like every thing else in life, we know those actually caught are likely just the tip of the extramarital iceberg.
The issue for voters, however, has always been, does it really matter if an elected official is a pig? I remember having a conversation with one of JFK’s sisters on that subject. Her response was “Jack may have screwed a lot of women but he never screwed the country.” Much the same was said of Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair. Clinton’s interpretation was “I was hired to do the nations business.” Then again, what else could he say although I maintain Bill Clinton would still be denying he had sex with “that woman” if Monica hadn’t produced the infamous blue dress.
For some bizarre reason philandering has taken on a decidedly partisan tone over the years. Democrats are far more inclined to dismiss infidelity as a personal matter while republicans attempt to take the high moral ground. Democrats probably have it right because when a high profile republican like Mark Sanford gets busted, republicans look foolish and hypocritical. The people who live in glass houses analogy comes to mind.
Voters seem to have a case by case reaction to sex scandals. Clearly they gave Bill Clinton a pass on his disgraceful womanizing probably because it didn’t come as a surprise and Hillary was seen as almost complicit in the affairs. John Edwards was the opposite. He was seen as an absolute hypocrite, cheating on his cancer stricken wife. He will spend the rest of his life in well deserved political exile.
Then there was Eliot Spitzer. He was busted at the Mayflower hotel in Washington with a high-priced call girl. Again, I doubt if Eliot Spitzer is the first politician to avail himself of the services of a hooker but it was his reputation as a crusader and scold that did him in. He had no problem telling people and corporations how to live their lives so when he got caught, there wasn’t a lot of sympathy for him. It appears we have gotten to the point where we almost assume our political leaders cheat and will lie about it if not caught red handed. Maybe for a lot of people, the Mark Sanford’s of the world hit a little too close to home. The divorce rate in this country tells you there’s a lot of cheating going on out there. That said, I still hear that Ross Perot quote in my head.