The subject is sexual morality and politics: It’s a hot topic, and not just because of New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner’s apparent cybersex fetish and narcissism.
Unfortunately, Weiner is not alone with morality stumbles.
Think Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, David Vitter, Bill Clinton, Scott DesJarlais.
What has happened that made serial philandering a forgivable offense in politics? Is it that many politicians are also, in the words the New York Times used to describe Weiner after his relapse, “serially evasive”?
In 1988, Gary Hart’s political career ended with a photograph of him with Donna Rice on his lap. But today a politician can have affairs and be welcomed back into candidacies and even be re-elected.