Affairs and Scandal in Washington

Washington D.C. is all too familiar with affairs and scandal. How could anyone forget President Clinton's extramarital affair with Monica Lewinsky, Anthony Weiner and his infamous twitter photo shoot, and  John Edwards cheating on his critically ill wife. Even 50 years later, we are still trying to figure out if there was anything between JFK and Marilyn Monroe. The Huffington Post does a comprehensive slideshow of the various men (notice the lack of women) who have been caught in extramarital affairs. For some, it ultimately damages their careers. For others, they remain low key for a few months in hopes that it will eventually go away. But why are scandals such as these capable of drastically shifting public perception, sometimes leading to an end to a career?

The latest scandal made known to the American people is of army general David Patraeus. Patraeus is highly  acclaimed and respected for his work in Afghanistan and Iraq.  In 2011, he was unanimously elected as the Director of the CIA.  But everything changed when rumors circulated that Patraeus engaged in an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Aside from being a slightly confusing story involving a second woman, Patraeus did admit that he did have an affair with Broadwell. On November 9, he resigned as Director of the CIA. CNN explains why this affair is more than the fact that he broke the vow to his wife, explaining it "involves questions of national security, politics, and even the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya." To summarize, Broadwell could have had access to secret information from Patraeus, or he could have been blackmailed for his involvement. Either way, his affair has led to an end to his career as Director of the CIA and quite possibly his marriage.

The question of why government officials keep cheating on their spouses pops up every single time another one is caught. There has been a lot of study as to why this happens, from being too arrogant to thinking they are untouchable to maybe just regular attraction to another. But is it right to penalize these politicians for their mishaps? Does it affect their politics, or should it affect their positions, even lose them? For people who are already weary as to the integrity and honesty of politicians, most people would hope that they would at least be able to keep a vow to their wives or husbands.  Outright denying or lying about an affair makes one wonder how else they are being dishonest. If their lack of judgment took them on a path to infidelity, that also raises questions as to who they are as a person. Even the issue of national security, something I had not considered until it kept being pointed out in the Patraeus case, is another factor to consider. What if a third party found out about the affair and threatened to blackmail the politician in turn for money or other compensation? Is it possible to really put the country in danger because you couldn't remain faithful to your spouse?

And what's with all these male politicians cheating? In one of my favorite blogs, Jezebel, they argue why powerful women cannot afford to cheat. It's not entirely certain whether men are more prone to cheating, but studies are showing that levels of power are more likely to be telling of a person's tendency to cheat. The author of the study explains that women haven't been seen as cheaters because there aren't as many women involved in high power positions.  The blogger of the article believes that is not that simple and argues that, even if women were to obtain more positions of power, cheating by women wouldn't necessarily be more prevalent. Either way, the scandals in Washington will never cease, and it will always remain one of the media's biggest obsessions.