Hardball

They bring a knife, you bring a gun...That's the Chicago way.
-The Untouchables

Today Steve Benen of the Carpetbagger Report plays hardball with sexual politics, and points out that three GOP presidential hopefuls have problems keeping it in their pants. As he writes in Washington Monthly:

Lurking just over the horizon are liabilities for three Republicans who have topped several national, independent polls for the GOP's favorite 2008 nominee: Sen. John McCain (affair, divorce), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (affair, divorce, affair, divorce), and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (divorce, affair, nasty divorce). Together, they form the most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history.

This is hardball at it's finest. It's a knife in the back at three prominent Republicans + a fine wedge issue between "values voter" social conservatives and fiscally conservative "moderate Republicans" + payback for the Clinton years + a reminder that even if Hillary is married to an adulterer, at least she hasn't been caught cheating, and she hasn't abandoned her spouse or child.

Obviously this line of attack is a little below the belt (pun intended). Is it Drudge-worthy slime, or fair game? Juxtaposed against the recent "[gay] Marriage Amendment", it does seem like ripe ground for the holier-than-thou to cast out the sinners. Will the Born-Again crowd agree to be represented by men who can't follow God's #7? rule? My money's on "yes, they will". After all, this administration doesn't do too well with #6 or #9, and they enjoy strong religious support.

I like Steve's blog, even if it is partisan red-meat. If he wants to make social conservative righteousness a wedge issue, more power to him. It has a lot of humor potential too, like asking Jerry Falwell why he had an adulterer give the commencement address at Liberty University.

Just don't fill the airwaves with so much adultery and divorce that there's no time to talk about torture, war, or screwing the 99% of us who don't have trust funds. There's much more important stuff going on today than anyone's sex life.

Myself, I rest easy knowing that even if the press runs the story, it won't hit Clinton levels. Not unless any of those mistresses saved a "stained dress".