Sex lives of the rich and political

Why do Americans care so much about the sex lives of their politicians? If Canadians found out that Stephen Harper cheated on his wife with a call girl, we'd probably all die of shock at the idea that the man actually had sex. Sure, his right wing Christian cred would be gone, but that would just make it easier for the Opposition to shoot down those "crazy plans" that they keep saying he's going to try to implement. I wouldn't call for him to step down because he can't keep it in his pants - as much as I'd like to be rid of him as a prime minister, I'd prefer to out him for something involving the lives of Canadians, not his personal life. 

This doesn't seem to be the sentiment of the majority of Americans who were featured on CBC radio this morning talking about New York Senator Eliot Spitzer who was caught paying for a high-priced call girl. People on the street want him to step down "I voted for him and he stabbed me in the back!" excalimed one man - Why? Did he cheat on you? Spitzer spent his money on a prostitute, not state money. 

Others accused him of lying; I admit that the man, nicknamed "Eliot Ness" for his crackdown on corrupt practices by Wall Street bigwigs, is a hypocrite. But really, even the nicest politicians end up eating their words at some point or another, so we really shouldn't be surprised that the man doesn't practice what he preaches. 

And yes, prostitution is illegal in the U.S. - though there are conflicting points of view on the merits of this - but that's not the reason Spitzer is being hung out to dry. As we all know, if he had been sleeping with his intern there would still be mass public outcry for his resignation. 

I admit to being fascinated with the Bill Clinton sex scandals when they came to light - and mass media saturation - but I was also 11 years old. I wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but I was fascinated and titillated by the open discussion of sexual acts available to me. In retrospect, there was very little detail given, and I don't condone censorship to keep kids like me from knowing what a blowjob is - better I find out from a news magazine than a dirty old man, right? 

But the fact that the American people called for the impeachment of their president because he lied about getting a blowjob from his intern, but not for the president who lied in order to get America to back his war in Iraq, shows how skewed the opinions of many American people are when it comes to the conduct of their politicians. You can kill all the infidels (and our sons and daughters) that you want, but if you covet your neighbours wife, we don't want you representing us! That's not family values.