There's something that's been bothering me about politics for a long time.
Couldn't quite put my finger on it until just recently. And, truth-be-told, it was John Edwards' extra-marital goings-on that brought it bubbling to the surface.
It was obvious all along, and I'm almost embarassed that I didn't realize it until now.
These people, these politicians, are just humans. We've come to see them on television so much, we've come to diefy them to an extent for so long, that we have forgotten that they are humans and have human failures.
Just like you and me, they make mistakes. They aren't perfect. Their shit smells just like yours does.
So, why does it seem like this is at all "shocking"?
Well, was it the fact that Edwards was, until recetly, running for President ( again ) that this somehow makes this situation all the more "juicy"? Was it that Edwards was able to connect with so many people? Was it the fact that he had fabulous hair?
No, no, and certainly not.
It's "shocking" because we are told that it is. But I'll let you all in on a little secret, it's not - at all.
What about John McCain, isn't he guilty of this?
Cenk Uygur points out that the media ( like they normally do ) tend to forget things like this:
We have this weird notion in America now that if a politician is caught in an affair that his career is done. We seem to be saying that what he did in his private life effects his policies or how he governs. But we all know that isn't true. We know that because almost all of our great presidents, and great leaders throughout history, have had numerous affairs. Obviously it didn't hurt how they governed at all.
I love the idea of someone saying Alexander the Great can't lead his empire because he's cheating on his wife (by the way, doesn't Alexander's bisexuality single-handedly destroy the idea that gays can't serve in the military). How about Genghis Khan? He had so many affairs that nearly 1% of the entire world population has his genes. Not fit to lead? And there have also been men of great compassion who led noble fights while still doing ignoble things in their private lives. We are all human at home.
More
here.
Of course, if you're on the verge of saying, "you can't present the arguement that since McCain did it Edwards can do it to" then you are far more predictable than most will give you credit for.
The major point in Uygur's piece is that, like Edwards, ALL politicians are humans regardless of party affiliation.
They aren't these superheroes that we make them out to be. They have faults, quirks, strange attributes, and bizarre personal issues that we all have in one form or another.
Just because Edwards "got some" on the side, does that make him any less of a patriot, any less American, any less capable of anything?
Fifty-percent of marriages end in divorce, many of which are due to infidelity. How many of that 50% are politicians, either "visable" to the average American through media exposure or not?
Is this going to destroy Edwards' credibility? Proably not. The people that are having such a field-day with this story did't like the man to begin with, so what does it matter what they say. They aren't saying anything that their audience doesn't already believe. In that respect, they are pointless voices who only serve to add to the collective cacauphony that ignore issues of importance.
Sure, you can go around and postulate that Edwards' affair somehow ruined Hillary Clinton's chance at getting her party's nomination. But, does that make it a reasonable assumption? Most likely, no.
Everyone politician has belched, farted, masturbated, cursed, fucked their spouses while thinking of someone else, stolen, lied, manipulated, slept-in late, took the last cookie and lied about it, drank milk from the carton, and has done or will do something that you don't agree with at some point.
Get over it.
