By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford tells Vogue magazine she feels sorry for the Argentine woman who had an affair with her husband.
I'd love to run a national poll to find out whom Americans feel sorrier for—the wife or the mistress.
I feel equally sorry for both of them. I could never tolerate Jenny Sanford's position of being publicly wronged in such excruciating fashion—abused by her husband's need to tell and the media's need to repeat. Children or not, I'd be out the door.
Besides, what kind of a lesson is it to teach four sons that philandering is OK? I understand why some, maybe even many, wives stay with philandering husbands. (I know, I know, Secretary Clinton's name must be raised in this context.) But it wouldn't be tolerable for me.
Similarly, any woman who has an affair with a man she knows is married is looking for trouble. Same would be true of a man who has an affair with a married woman. You know from the start that the person is not trustworthy (unless that person has an open marriage, and that's a whole different blog entry), so why are you getting involved? Could it be due to low self-esteem, a desire to attain the unattainable, or a fear of deep involvement? I can't think of a single answer to that question that passes ethical muster.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (11)
John of IL 7:44PM August 26, 2009
wordwon [John Conover] of SC 5:06PM August 20, 2009
Chuck Roberts of TX 2:47PM August 20, 2009