FJM Blog

By  Armstrong Williams

The salacious details surrounding the admitted affairs of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Nevada Senator John Ensign may have fallen from the front pages of Washington newspapers, but the impact the twisted trysts have wrought will linger in this country for years to come.  I’m not referring to the marriage counseling, potential federal investigations, or even Sen. Ensign’s and Gov. Sanford’s political futures.  While important to the respective parties, they pale in comparison to a larger epidemic now taking form – a culture of sexual arrogance.

There is a growing class in Washington today seemingly numb to the notion that fidelity to one’s spouse is a virtue – a trait that should be both honored and practiced on a consistent and regular basis, not just when the cameras are rolling.  In their eyes, the Capital City is the personification of a ubiquitous, colorless gray area – a situational ethics zone where righteous indignation is viewed as a skill to be practiced only on the floors of the House and Senate.  In this zone, they have ascended to political nirvana, absolving them of their actions, for they know not what they do.  They are “the untouchables.”

Should we have pity for these men?  Will their constituents and grand ole party rally to their side?  They knowingly committed these adulterous acts.  It says less about their predilections and more about their own selfishness.  Did they not know they would be caught?  How can you plan to run for president and the intense scrutiny that follows, only to cheat on your most loyal of teammates?

Sanford and Ensign (or Spitzer and Edwards, it doesn’t matter) will say they weren’t thinking clearly.  They want us to accept that minor hiccup and help them move on.

The office they hold dare not be tie d to their actions.  Redemption (and reelection) is only an apology away.  If one of “the untouchables” is too proud to even publicly seek forgiveness, then they have an alternative – wait it out.  Former President Bill Clinton was head charlatan of this practice.  Unspoken liberties with a White House intern?  Deny. Deny. Deny.  Let time be your friend.

Elected officials are even stealing pages from Hollywood’s playbook.  We now have members of Congress ducking into rehab facilities to get away from it all.  Responsibility for their actions is left to be explained by a 25 year-old staffer, while voters are all expected to understand the demands of the office.  If only elected officials would understand those same demands before committing their affairs.

The media exacerbates the problem, blurring the lines between right and wrong.  Just hours following Gov. Sanford’s admission, a Washington Post reporter blogged, “Compared to Sanford, Ensign’s=2 0crime was so pedestrian: he had an extramarital affair…” Such casualness cheapens the moment, and indirectly enables those in elected office to slip quickly under the lens of public scrutiny if their apology is deemed contrite enough by reporters.

Spare me the thinly-veiled suggestions that one party is now morally superior to the other.  And please don’t roll out the tired accusations of hypocrisy.  Pundits moonlighting as psychologists have applied that to so many behaviors we’ve emptied the term of any meaning, not to mention the shame that should accompany it.   

For some reason, there are too many out there who are willing to forgive and forget within a blind of an eye, letting the actions of our national leaders aimlessly stagger with the wind, with no steadfast direction. The argument has been made that just because leaders of our free country have hypnotically walked into adultery that this doesn’t necessarily make them a bad politician; and, it should be up to the people to value their political efficacy. Aren’t the two one in the same? Shouldn’t a leader of our free country set an example to live by?

These revelations speak singularly to elected officials’ own personal judgment.  Make no mistake, they are as irreverent of property, human or otherwise, as they are disrespectful of the time-honored oath to do right by one’s spouse, for better or worse.  That’s why marriage is so important to the average American.  It is the embodiment of true partnership.  And it represents a partnership these elected officials seek when they ask someone to vote for them.  How could Mark Sanford forget that, despite his mistress’s hypnotic tan lines??

The book of Romans taught the early Christians that each individual is divinely blessed with different gifts.  As he lists through examples of those gifts, the apostle Paul dwells on leadership in this way: “If your gift is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement0if it is to lead, do it diligently…” [emphasis added].  Every action of our elected leaders demands careful consideration.  They must be deliberate.  They are held to a higher standard.  Those in authority knew that when they took the job, and they must never forget the enormity of that commitment.

That’s why the decisions these individuals make in their private lives is subject to public scrutiny.  If one’s judgment is lacking in his own private affairs, and the callous decisions he makes regarding his own wife, then why would constituents believe that same individual is capable of making thoughtful decisions with their collective wives, moms and daughters?  There can be no equivocation on this matter.  Fidelity to one’s spouse is tantamount to his pledge, his very commitment to the body politic.  Governor Sanford and Sen. Ensign must acknowledge that their actions yield consequences.  Many are demanding that they step down and set the example that there can be substantial consequences for marital infidelity and blatantly lying to your most trusted and loyal staff members.  Should the public demand this and expect nothing less?

www.armstrongwilliams.com

 

“The Armstrong Williams Show” is broadcast daily on XM Satellite Power 169 from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

 

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