Sanford's Argentina Affair Is a Lesson on Character and Power
A straight shooter strays, and one wonders how to feel
"I don't think we set ourselves above. I think we were naïve. We came here believing in ourselves and our ability to effect positive change...but what we realized is how phenomenally difficult it is to change anything in Washington...Washington destroyed the class," a GOP congressman told me Wednesday.
Power does have a vested interest in protecting itself, but it's not really fair to blame Washington for everything. While infidelity and bad behavior undoubtedly happen all over the country among people of all professions, there is a sense of invulnerability and being above the rules that can overtake elected officials. "They begin to think they can get away with anything," the congressman admitted to me.
Which brings us to the lesson of it all. What can we learn from the Sanford debacle?
Sanford has certainly crushed the hopes of conservatives who were counting on him as their candidate in 2012. But Barack Obama and the Democrats should not pop the champagne corks yet. They should consider this a cautionary tale. Not that anyone would expect Barack Obama to contemplate infidelity, but rather, he should beware of taking too much for granted and getting so comfortable with power that he forgets why he ran in the first place.
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Reader Comments
His Christian counselors, should he sue them?
He mentioned the many times he took advice from Christian counselors and spent time with them. They apparently told him to obey "God's Law," with its emphasis on asking for and receiving "forgiveness." That counts on the betrayed wife taking part in GIVING him other "chances to fall." There's use of the phrase "soul mate," but there's no such thing as a "soul." That word was invented so there would be something to be "saved" by preachers who negotiate with God, at great profit to preachers. His counselors seem to belong to "faith-based community groups" that try to decrease domestic violence, addictions, crime and anti-social behavior. They're tax-paid, so they sprang up everywhere after religious lawmakers illegally created them. Sanford is in bad trouble, apparently because they gave him advice based on the Bible, and didn't remind him of civil laws, codes and statutes. Investment counselors have been sued for giving harmful advice, which proved they were not qualified for the profession of counseling. Maybe he should ask for legal advice.
Moral High Ground?
This is more of an on-line affair then anything else. Adultery, you bet. Do Republicans take the moral high ground? Nope, if not for these conservative men, there would be sex in the streets. Someone has to take a stand for morals and family values. No one is perfect, so the point of your article is pretty stupid. Where's your coverage of the Duke College Professor arrested by the FBI (white gay male, some sort of administrator in Heath Care) who was pimping out his 5 year old son (black adopted) who he was also sexually abusing. What? Too many sorid details for gays? Would this inflame the debate on the defense of marriage act or maybe don't ask don't tell, or gee I don't know, how about homosexual's adopting children, especially a minority who he admitted "was easier to get". Sounds like there is a story there. Why is Duke being quite about this? They were all over the news with the black woman who accused the Lacrosse Team of rape which turned out to be totally false and ruined many lifes. Maybe it's because this just ruins one tiny black boys life? Where is the Nancy Grace snear? Frank Lombard, just google and tell me that's not newsworthy.
An Epiphany?
I’m gonna have to drop back and punt on this one. This guy wasn’t trolling for little boys in a bathroom. He wasn’t hitting on staffers. This was a non-sexual, 7 or 8 year friendship that got serious. Someone else said it, “Nothing happens out of the blue”. His wife is apparently all a man could ask for. Maybe that’s the problem. He had all that everyone said he should have, but not the happiness they said would go along with it. When things got bad in SC, Argentina was the place he could go for solace. His wife has already positioned herself to move on and I suggest he do the same. To me, his big mistake is that, like a little kid who can’t bring himself to just get off the merry-go-round, he’s hanging on and getting dragged in circles through the dirt. Time to stand up and be the man he wants to be, rather than the man other people want him to be. He’s afraid he may lose something that’s already gone. I think he had an epiphany that may have radiated beyond his shorts. Those emails suggest these two people may have found something most of us can only dream of. Gingrich cheated, divorced, remarried and is, in fact, already running for president, and no one is saying a word. In the new Republican Party there might be a place for more than one divorced fiscal conservative. I’d be calling Argentina.
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