Trendy Wednesday - Cheating Politicians

Another day, another cheating politician. I really want to say I find the discovery that Governor Mark Sanford is having an affair with a mysterious Argentinian woman is a surprise, a shock, a disappointment. And while it is all of those things, hearing that a politician has cheated on his wife just isn't news anymore. The funny thing is, had this affair been uncovered in a fine dining establishment in Columbia, people would have already moved on. The only real reason this particular instance of infidelity is even making headlines a day later is that the guy was missing for several days. I don't say it like this to trivialize the act of unfaithfulness, but merely to point out how sad it is that it has become so common that we only really notice it if it's with a member of the same sex or an Argentinian. Take Louisiana's great Senator David Vitter for example. The man's number is found in the DC Madam's black book, and because he held a press conference saying he confessed a grave sin to his Parish priest, we have all but forgiven him. Seriously, it is a touchy subject in LA if you even for a minute question his character. It is just CRAZY to me that we are expected to look past these things and say that it is a personal matter meant to be discussed only between a family. Absurd. Every time a situation like this arises, the politico has a press conference where he resigns from some position in the party that has given him a significant opportunity to bring prestige and honor (and let's not forget about gov't dollars) to the state in which he was elected (for LA, let's think about all we lost when Bob Livingston had to resign because of his affair). Their character matters for many reasons, but most of all because we have elected them to make our locality, state, country better.

It's kind of a what-comes-first-chicken-or-egg thing. Do the guys who make it into positions of power have the personalities of a cheater or do they cheat once they get the power you have after getting into politics. I don't know. Maybe it's a combination. Either way you play it, it's a tired game.

Let's hope it's a trend that's going out of style sooner rather than later.