In the news, former General David Patraeus resigns as head of the CIA. His resignation is tied to the uncovering of emails during an FBI investigation; indicting an extramarital affair with journalist Paula Broadwell. Patraeus and Broadwell will over the coming weeks be, the subjects of opinion pieces. The affair will be dissected to satisfy the prurient needs of a bored public. If the handling of past affairs holds true for this one we can expect a lot of moral hand ringing apologies and snide commentary and a healthy does of partisanship.
Some will call the affair a "none event" and wax lyrically about the needs of powerful men; that power is attractive and women unable to resist its lure. The flip side of that coin has the CIA Director cast as a Good Man undone by bad judgement. Others bemoaning the Moral state of America will condemn Broadwell, ( more so than Patraeus) as a scheming seducer, home wrecker, morally deficient.
Neither narrative is especially kind to women; depicted as rewards for powerful men, little more than furniture to be used; or the temptress leading men to their doom, a modern Eve. The man does better. Sure he is weak or stupid, but what man can withstand the wiles of woman kind. He can safely be forgiven. It is a ridiculous them but it gets page clicks.
I am more interested in the question over private and public life; whether something like a sexual affair requires the resignation that often accompanies such a revelation. I hold that a Public Persons private life is their own; the only exceptions I make are for Hypocrisy and Performance. If you are an ardent promoter of Family Values, if your public life is centered around morality, then any sexual transgression removes your authority and with it any right to influence or offices obtained through such moral exertions.
How does a sexual affair impact performance? I address this as a function of credibility. If you are married you have entered into a contractual agreement with your spouse; by way of religious or civil ceremony. A sacred moment where you commit to certain actions, among them monogamy. When you have an affair you are breaking a your sworn oath. That is a performance issue. If your word is no good, you don't deserve to hold the public trust.
So to be clear it's not the sex; it's the notion that you as an Holder of the Public Trust will break your word; if you think you won't get caught; because you can't control yourself; any potential Office Holder willing to do the former or be subject to the latter would not get my vote. A person willing to cheat on their spouse shows disregard for that person; a disregard that might transition to the public. It suggest such a person that wishes to maintain the benefits that accrue from married life while satisfying themselves outside of it; the best of both worlds. All the cake, none of the crumbs.
It is a question or Morals( if religious) and Ethics. A person worthy of Public Office or Public Influence must possess a certain type of Character. People who cheat are not bad people, they just aren't quite what I'm looking for in a representative.
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