You knew it was only a matter of time before this headline showed up, dintcha?

U’no - what it takes for the American people to get upset is for a so-called conservative to get caught doing the exact same thing that so-called liberals do all the time.  At least if the American press is any kind of gauge (which I doubt). 

Bob - Clinton paid a small price, as you say, but when it was all over, he still was the president and still had the adulation of the Dem party, who never left his side throughout the whole controversy.  And he still is adored and lionized today.  In fact, since he left office, he has been only more popular than ever and has made many millions of dollars from being a highly public figure.  So as far as truly “paying a price,“ his pecadillos didn’t hurt him at all, ultimately.  Nobody in his own party called him out on the carpet. 

Contrast that with how the Republican party deals with one of its own who transgresses.  Many Republicans quickly and publicly denounced Larry Craig in no uncertain terms and asked for him to step down.  Look at Newt Gingrich - the guy lost his speaker’s position and basically disappeared for about the last 10 years. 

Some Reps are calling for Sanford to step down.

Both Dems and Reps sometimes transgress.  The difference is how the individual handles it, and how his party handles it.

Seems to me that the Republicans who do these kinds of things ultimately end up paying a higher price than the Dems who do the exact same thing.  Look at William Jefferson, with his $90,000 cash in the freezer.  I don’t recall hearing about a single Dem in Congress calling for him to resign.  And this was after Mistress Pelosi claimed they would have the most honest, ethical and open Congress in history.  Yeah, talk about hypocrisy.

Actually Bob, you miss the point. The sickos are the people of the US, inparticular the DEM Party, for not calling insisting upon his immediate resignation from the Office of President of the United States. You and most of the country fail to even grasp why. It speaks volumes for the education and values of our society.

Good points all Bob but color me cynical.

First, I have to question what the big deal is about abandoning a post that is largely ceremonial to begin with. So Carolina did not fall apart in his absence.

Secondly, I suspect he was set up, even if he did know this woman for quite some time. The Dems were tracking him. The analogy is how spies were treated during the Cold War. If they deported a couple of our spies or vice versa we replied by deporting a couple of them.

So too if some Dem operatives like Edwards get embarassed it’s time for payback, and if toe tapping and interning gets a couple of REps in trouble, or a few baggies of money in the freezer for the Dems, time to go on the hunt for liberals or conservatives.  Payback.

They especially like to go after the leaders. The harmless clueless idiots are generally safe. Palin’s wardrobe, troopergate, and travel expenses were non-issues until she started to get a following and attract attention.

The charges against these folks are doubtless true. Sure, they might be scumbags. Not like they have to make anything up. Sanford was guilty.

They make their mea culpas, pray on it, debase themselves like a submissive puppy, check the polls, consult with party bosses, hold a press conference, apologize again, act dramatic, act depressed, apologize again, and then see whether it worked or not.

Sanford might be lucky to get upstaged by Michael Jackson. Have to wait and see.

Its a little more than just sex. This clown left the state, with nobody in charge, at taxpayer expense, not once but twice. And as a matter of taste, he was not even around for father’s Day for his four sons.
  You live by the sword of family values and gay bashing, Clinton bashing, you might get stuck by that sword.
  Clinton paid a price. He was disbarred. he paid out money to two other women and he was put on trial in the Senate. And he was acquitted but I doubt if it was a fun experience. he paid a price. Of course in the eyes of conservative ideologues like uno Secessionist, anything short of Biblical stoning was a miscarriage of justice.

Yes Herr Biscuit, in autocratic countries many get away with alot. However there are good leaders like Billy and myself who own up to our transgressions. In Eagle’s Nest I had a young intern Hilda who I smoked cigars with. Eva never forgave me, but I had to lead anyway.

Good to hear from old friend, danka for posting.

Mark Sanford, after hearing news of Michael Jackson’s sudden death:

“Saved by the bell!!!“

The answer to that is simple. The public gets VERY upset over sexual peccadillioes. It doesn’t take much to ruin a political career.

The libs think it hypocritical to talk of family values while behaving like family wreckers, the cons think Bill and Hillary Clinton were Beelzebub and the AntiChrist personified so nothing else will ever matter so much by comparison, no matter how egredious, and everyone else seems to very slowly an dimly perceive that our elected officials might not be acting on our best behalf but rather feathering their own nest, as it were.

The Europeans are very tolerant of this sort of thing, the remainder of the world basically an autocratic dictatorship where nothing the Supreme Leader does is common knowledge, so only in America do you get this prudish openly published response from ordinary people.

I’m not saying the public response is bad, nor is good, just predictable. Politicians are walking talking targets for sexual misdemeanors, indecency, and lapses of sound and sober judgment just by nature of being high profile and under constant scrutiny all the time.

We also knew and suspected they were just career politicians anyway, not public servants nor minions of the common trust, just career blowhards intent on extending the Appalachian Trail all the way to South America, one sappy lovenote at a time.

This is a moot issue since all politicians are given a free ride for sexual promiscuity. Or is it just Bill Clinton while in office? BJs in the Oval Office and several women testifying about his molestation of them. What does it take for the American people to be upset about anything?

THIS is far more interesting than someone else’s love life. Especially if you marvel at the wonders of modern technology (hint: this one is really burnin’ up the internet!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bqgDt4m5pw

(copy/paste into browser if no hyperlink. and crank your volume way up. you need sound to appreciate it)

I guess there’s a certain subset of us, on earth, (like 5%?), who wonder why people obsess about such matters—who a person has sex with. And they get all EXCITED! about it to boot. Exciting stuff this story is, for many folks.

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