It's the Cheating, Stupid

Original Link: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/07/its_the_cheating_stupid.html

By Debra Saunders

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is a disgrace.

This month, thanks to porn sleaze-meister Larry Flynt, Americans learned that the alleged prostitution ring run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey -- the D.C. madam -- called Vitter five times between 1999 and 2001. Vitter promptly issued a statement apologizing for "a very serious sin" -- then went into seclusion. On Monday, Vitter trotted out his poor wife as he offered "my deep, sincere apologies to all those I have let down" and said he accepted responsibility for his mistakes.

A few problems: For one thing, paying a prostitute is a crime, even if authorities cannot prosecute Vitter because of the statute of limitations. For another, Vitter is guilty of criminal stupidity. Vitter entered Congress in 1999 after he won a special election to replace Rep. Bob Livingston, who resigned in the heat of the Clinton impeachment after admitting that he had had an extramarital affair. About that time, Vitter was vocal in his criticism of then-President Bill Clinton -- he said Clinton was "morally unfit to govern" -- yet, at the same time, he was calling call girls.

I would ask, what was he thinking? But, of course, it is clear: Vitter was not overworking his brain.

About the only facts you can put in Vitter's plus column are that he didn't lie about doing business with Palfrey's service and he didn't run into rehab.

Those plusses, however, pale next to the sheer arrogance and breathtaking stupidity that enabled Vitter to behave in a manner that discredited his alleged deeply held beliefs.

No doubt about it, Vitter is a big story in part because of the hypocrisy angle.

According to The Associated Press, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., criticized Vitter for his hypocrisy. Palfrey told the Advocate, a Louisiana newspaper, that Vitter "is a hypocrite of the highest order."

Flynt's Hustler magazine has made it known that it wants to out "moral hypocrites." Yes, Vitter has made himself a juicy target by advocating abstinence programs for teens while dialing for dalliances. But what does it say about a people who object to adultery only if the cheating spouse has said it is bad? OK. No one wants to be judgmental.

Most Americans consider adultery to be wrong, but also know good people who, trapped in miserable marriages, have strayed looking for love.

Vitter's behavior does not seem to fall into that niche. Paying for sex puts him in the serial philanderers' club -- the world of men who cheat on their wives regardless of the state of their marriage.

That's what stinks.

Besides, there is plenty of hypocrisy to go around.

If it is hypocritical for a "family values" pol to stray, it also is hypocritical for a liberal Democrat who says he cares about women to humiliate his wife while he treats other women as if they are used goods.

Palfrey called Vitter a "hypocrite" at the same time as she claims to have operated a legitimate business. If she was not running a sex-for-hire ring, then why out him?

The only person in this story who may not be a hypocrite is Flynt, who proudly crowed to Howard Kurtz of CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday, "That's right, I'm a slimeball." Any value system that puts Flynt on the moral high ground is seriously flawed.

Besides, the thinking behind those who gloat about Vitter's hypocrisy is that of course men cheat on their wives, but the better man does not pretend to value monogamy. All hail the honest adulterer -- even if he lies about sex.

My sympathy lies with Wendy Vitter.

In 2000, she told a reporter that if her husband strayed, "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary (Clinton). If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me."

Monday, Wendy Vitter was stuck in the long-suffering-wife-sticking-by-cheating-husband role, as she told reporters she was "proud" to be David Vitter's wife and that their marriage was stronger than ever. It would be easier to believe that if her husband had cared enough to spare her that ordeal.