Giving politicians a worse name
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1 comment [ View ]Timing, as they say, is everything.
About two hours after New York Gov. David A. Paterson was sworn into office, he confirmed that years ago, he had participated in sexual relationships with women other than his wife. She, too, admitted that she had an affair during the same period of time.
All this might have been merely disappointing to the people of New York and curious to the rest of America, but Paterson had just got the governor's job because the previous governor, Eliot Spitzer, had been forced to resign after it was revealed he'd allegedly paid about $80,000 over a period of time to high-priced prostitutes.
But wait -- it gets worse for the people of New York and neighboring New Jersey. Now former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, according to The Associated Press, "said Monday he and his wife and a male aide engaged in sexual threesomes, contradicting a denial issued hours earlier by his estranged wife." McGreevey resigned his office in 2004 after admitting to a sexual relationship with a male employee on his office staff.
This moral swamp may know no bottom.
The Patersons say they sought counseling and have a strong marriage now -- indeed, have had for years, they say. Other New York politicians in state government are mostly saying the new governor's private life is just that: private.
They may have a point. New Yorkers -- in Albany, the Big Apple and throughout the rest of the state -- have always been a forgiving lot. Most recently, in the months preceding Sept. 11, 2001, they gave New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani a pass even when he moved his mistress into the mayoral residence while still married to his wife.
Which is not to say New York residents are not upset and disgusted by Spitzer and, now, Paterson. Clearly they are, especially Paterson's explanation during a news conference that "I haven't broken any laws. ... Actually, I think we have a marriage like many Americans, maybe even like many of you."
Speak for yourself, governor, not the rest of us.
It's a savage reminder humans are an imperfect lot, and sometimes these undesirable traits show up in the people we chose to be our leaders -- people in which we invest huge amounts of trust.
In Utah over recent decades, we've had politicians become mired in scandals, whether sexual or shady business dealings.
Fortunately, they haven't involved our governors, and let's keep hoping they never do.
In any event, this kind of shameful behavior making headlines this week should be a reminder to everyone in all walks of life: Behave like the whole world is watching, and at least your dignity will remain intact.
Yeah, let's use our Founding Fathers as a moral example,... Wait maybe that isn't such a good idea.