Markham Hislop, SECN publisher
Who cares that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford cheated on his wife? Well, obviously his wife cares. And those in his immediate circle probably care. But should SC voters care? And, really, why in the world would Calgaryians give a flying fig about the infidelities of an American politician?
Apparently editors at the Calgary Herald think Calgarians care because the story of Sanford’s transgression received prominent play in Thursday’s edition. The story even included a sidebar of U.S. politicians “caught in sex scandals.”
When I read the story my first response was, “When was the last time a Canadian politician was caught in a sex scandal?”
Turns out the late 1950s, when Gerda Munsinger, a prostitue and Soviet spy, was schtumphing a couple of federal Conservative cabinet ministers. The “scandal” wasn’t even discovered until 1966, when the story was broken by The Torono Daily Star. The affair might not have been scandalous at all if not for Munsinger’s unsavoury connections to East Germany, a Cold War enemy of the West.
But at least there was a news angle to the sex. Canadians should be concerned if their senior decision makers are sleeping with enemy spies.
Should Canadians expect the media to dig up dirt on the sex lives of their elected officials? Should we emulate our American colleagues and publish salacious stories about the affairs of our nation’s leaders?
Absolutely not, in my opinion.
I’m sure there is dirt to be had. With 15 aldermen, nine MPs, and 23 MLAs, totaling 47 politicians, somebody somewhere is misbehaving. Probably a lot of sombodies.
Frankly, I don’t care. I don’t vote for politicians based on their commitment to their marriage vows. I vote for ideas and policies, experience and track record. What they do in the privacy of their bedroom, or some seedy motel, is their business.
An unhealthy interest in the sex lives of politicians isn’t good for a country. Look at Bill Clinton. A pretty good president by anyone’s standards, his administration was paralyzed by the Monica Lewinski affair. How did that benefit the United States?
I don’t see any benefit in the continual stream of stories from the American press detailing the latest cheating politician. The world is going to hell in a handbasket, as my grandmother used to say, and Americans have much more to be concerned about than the latest governor who can’t keep it in his pants.
There are exceptions, notably if the story is legitimate news, say if a politicians is caught breaking the law, as was New York Governor Eliot Spitzer when his predilection for high-priced prostitutes became public knowledge.
If a SE alderman is nabbed picking up girls on a hooker stroll, for example, SECN will cover the story. Otherwise, extramarital sex is his – or her – business, not ours.
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Americans thrive on scandal and sensationalism. Canadians will be more vocal about an elected official spending government money for personal benefit than what they do with their sex lives.
If the politician I elected to office crossed over from his (or her) private life and into his/her public life, then I’d say I do have a say. If they did what Gov. Sanford did – went AWOL/unreachable for 5 days without transferring power, used state money to go see his mistress – then it is my business. The affair is not any of my business, but when they start using or might have used government expenses, then it is a problem.
I’m sure if the Canadian press got wind of it, they’d report it too. But then again, Americans tend to call press conferences to declare their infidelities. The entire press conference idea is a bad idea. It doesn’t help anyone involved except maybe the media.