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The Current Crisis
Hold That Tiger
It’s his bad luck he’s not President of the United States.
WASHINGTON — When I read the other day that the lapsed golfer Tiger Woods’ nationwide approval rating had fallen from 87% to 33%, the only conclusion I could draw was that he had been out campaigning for the Democrats’ healthcare plan. According to an interesting piece on him in the current Vanity Fair, the superb golfer now has a disapproval rating of 57%. Is this the consequence of his getting too close to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the glacial-faced Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi? No, apparently it is the consequence not of his associating with politicians but rather of his living like one. His sex life has been exposed, and it is comparable to that of a particularly virulent germ.
If the reporter for Vanity Fair is accurate, Woods’ sex life is hyperactive, to say nothing of unhygienic. Yet his disastrous collapse in the polls still perplexes me. If he were president of the United States and being impeached for his wantonness, his polling numbers would soar. His critics would be assailed with that popular line from the 1990s, “it’s only sex.” Why, I ask, is a golfer being abominated for promiscuity? He tried to keep his sex life private. He did not flaunt his many gallantries. It is not as though he has cheated on his golf game, and if he has so does Bill Clinton. There are whole books written about the former president’s cheating on the golf course. Some Americans find it amusing. Others give Bill a good-natured pass.
Supposedly the disapproval Woods is suffering is because he and his handlers carefully choreographed a squeaky-clean image for him. Yet most politicians live carefully choreographed lives. Worse they invite the press to cover their lives, while keeping the unsavory stuff out of sight. Woods did not invite the press into his private life. He was a very private person. Unlike the politicians who invite the press into their homes while keeping the cuties out of sight, Woods never practiced such deception. The press might at least show him the respect they once showed 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards, who played the reporters for fools.
With the revelations about Woods’ scortatory pursuits, millions of dollars of corporate endorsements have been withdrawn. The claim is that his publicists lied about Woods’ wholesomeness. Well, what is surprising about that? Publicists are supposed to lie about their clients. They exaggerate their clients’ virtues and hide their defects. In fact, I would argue that the word publicist is a euphemism for “liar.” Maybe Woods’ critics should turn their wrath on his publicists, and let him get on with playing golf. It is his golf game that attracted the millions of people to follow him, not his sex life — though this might now change.
One of the complaints now swirling around Woods is that his handlers carefully manipulated his press conferences. In them he would, according to an indignant golf correspondent, “talk forever and say nothing.” Now this brings me to a matter that has always mystified me about press conferences held for sports stars. They almost never have anything interesting to say. Woods is now being criticized for ornamenting his press conferences with such vacuities as, “I had a pretty good day.” Apparently the assembled reporters believe he had an obligation to add, “And I am going to have a pretty good night. I have two bimbos waiting in the limousine. They’re in the trunk with the champagne.”
One thing has caught my eye in all the angry coverage of this fallen golfer. He was a sports prodigy from a very early age. Reportedly, at the age of two he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show where he demonstrated his “perfect swing” — the reference is to a golf swing, I am sure. Apparently, he has been in the limelight ever since. He has won about every tournament that an athlete in his sport could win, often more than once. Then he retires behind a facade. His only real interest has been golf.
I have actually known two child prodigies from different sports, one a very popular sport, the other less so. For years they dominated the opposition. Both men had one thing in common. They were born blanks. There was nothing to them, aside from their athletic achievement. Perhaps Woods’ critics among his erstwhile fans and among the sportswriters would not be so angry if they had recognized Tiger Woods’ emptiness. Still they only have themselves to blame for investing in a superlative golfer qualities that he never had. Yet give him this much credit: he never made any claims to nobility. The errant politician always does — and his loyal followers fall for his claims every time. Even now there are Clinton loyalists out there insisting that Bill is a noble man. Some might even believe he is a virgin.
About the Author
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. He is the author of The Death of Liberalism, published by Thomas Nelson Inc. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn’t Work: Social Democracy’s Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; The Clinton Crack-Up; and After the Hangover: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (57) | Leave a comment
More Articles by R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.
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brewpop| 1.14.10 @ 6:26AM
Bill Clinton a virgin? Now, that's one great line!
Stephanie| 1.14.10 @ 6:38AM
The tragedy in all of this Tiger drama is there is yet another family destroyed. Children without their father. You can have all the money in the world, but the cash doesn't replace your dad.
So, so sad.
Dennis Bergendorf| 1.14.10 @ 8:15AM
The thought has hit me during the era of Tiger-gate that he's being punished not so much for his transgressions, but rather for being ambivalent on race issues. It was shortly before "golf's greatest driver shanked his Escalade into a fire hydrant" that one prominent syndicated columnist wrote of the dismay within the AA Community that Tiger wasn't using his status to improve the lot of people of color or promote the Democrat Party. Had he been an activist (appearing at rallies with Sharpton and Jackson and protesting all manner of perceived injustices), the only media firestorm these days would be that directed at Woods' critics--who would be branded as racists.
Eric Damon| 1.14.10 @ 9:10AM
Spot on analysis! Tiger has been taking a beating for years from people like Jim Brown for not being sufficiently involved in the black community. Nevermind that his foundation was not so much about golf as it was about giving underprivilged kids...of any race/ethnicity...a chance to sharpen their educational skills and have a chance at a meaningful education. And he has had writers assail him not for being involved in extramarital affairs, but for not having them with "women of color"! As if that would somehow make it okay to cat around on your wife!
If Tiger had the "right" politics, supported the "right" causes, and made his every appearance an Obama campaign ad, he would have been fine. The press would be busy telling us how we should feel sorry for Tiger because he has a sexual addiction, instead of trying to bury his career.
The Bishop| 1.14.10 @ 8:53AM
Tiger's mistake is that he didn't summon a Negro dialect during those press conferences. Then he could have aligned his image more closely with rappers and those who historically have treated women as more than mere sex objects. Given the recent revelations in the recently-released book, Game Change, Bubba's virginity streak has been extended well into post-Presidency.
R Martin| 1.14.10 @ 9:15AM
Women who seek liaisons with younger men are known as Cougars. Perhaps "Tigers" should now be used to define highly promiscuous men who pursue liaisons with women of any stripe. In that case the golfer, Mr. Woods, has an apt nickname. Still, now that we know who he really is, I think we should refer to him using his real name. Let's call him Eldrick.
Robert Pinkerton| 1.14.10 @ 1:23PM
A male tiger is simply the very largest of all tomcats in creation.
Joellen| 1.14.10 @ 9:16AM
John Edwards played the reporters for "fools". I dont think so! They just refused to release the information solely because he is a liberal/progressive democrat! Let's stop giving these so called reporters any creditability!
Comebackkid| 1.14.10 @ 9:25AM
I’m a hack golfer only breaking 100 occasionally, but I love the game and I appreciate those who play the game well. I only watch golf to watch Tiger. The primary reason I watch is to see him recover from those, often terrible, drives. His recovery shots are pure magic! So Tiger has behaved like an NBA player, so what. Jordan came back from both gambling and extramarital affairs. Woods will come back too.
When he plays Camellia at the Masters, just like all those bimbos, we’ll just shake our heads and utter the words...amazing...
Roscoe| 1.14.10 @ 12:21PM
Speak for your self. Don't presume to know what I think, or what I would say about this scumbag.
Aloysius| 1.14.10 @ 10:00AM
Well said, Mr. Tyrell, as usual. And congratulations. I had to crack out the dictionary for the new (to me) word, "scortatory." Apparently, I didn't progress far enough in Latin class, or else they sheltered us from such vocabulary.
Alan Brooks| 1.14.10 @ 10:03AM
I like Clinton far more than Bush.
Clinton's leaving office left us with a surplus-- not a deficit.
I'm hoping Obama can do the same.
Dwayne| 1.14.10 @ 11:24AM
Mr. Brooks,
The Republican Congress of the 1990's did not want to give Mr. Clinton any more goodies to hand out to his supporters than they had to, and Mr. Clinton did not want to let the Republicans give away any more treats than necessary. It was only after 4 years of wrangling that the Republicans figured out that they could balance the budget, something they and Mr. Clinton could agree, their common interests aligning. (It helped Mr. Clinton gain traction post impeachment.)
Mr. Bush and a Republican Congress were intent on rewarding their friends, which is common when the party controlling Congress is the President's party. They also wanted to be good sports and thought that letting the Democrats dole some largesse would help them have some say when the pendulum swung back to the D's.
Well, the pendulum swung in 2006. In the final 2 years of Mr. Bush's presidency you saw some of what happened when power swung in 1994. The Congress tried to push its agenda against the president and wasn't interested in money, only revenge... Bush as with Clinton.
Now we have a doubling of the debt in 1 year and new programs proposed that will not reduce government spending, but expand it dramatically.
If you want Mr. Obama to have any shot at leaving office with a balanced budget, elect Republicans to Congress in 2010.
michael loehrer | 1.14.10 @ 2:45PM
Alan: Why is it liberals have a great propensity to re-write history? A surplus not a deficit? He left us with a recession--the percerson to a bigger one. He left us with a failed legacy against terrorism--which required Bush to commits billions of dollars to clean up Clintons' while he was trying to cover his butt and Moonica's dress from being exposed.
J.C.Eaton| 1.14.10 @ 10:28AM
A "surplus" of what? Boodle or bullshit? In either case you weren't left better for it.
Oldefarte| 1.14.10 @ 10:39AM
Great article, Bob! Wood's [and Clinton, Edwards, and most of all JFK/RFK/Teddy-Boy,etc] fault is that they are liars/prevaricators who describe themselves to the public as one thing in order to hide their true identity. The purpose for same is selfishness/narcissism [for Woods, it's financial; for the rest, it's political gain/advantage]. They all are aware that the public, upon which they depend for their success, will not support them unless they falsify their true identities. In a word, it's their BULLEXCREMENT!!!!
Le Cracquere| 1.14.10 @ 10:53AM
The huge dip in Woods's popularity reminds me of grade-school physics. It wasn't really sudden or surprising; it was more like a huge amount of potential energy being suddenly converted into kinetic. If you actual scientists will forgive my thumbless use of physics metaphor, the potential energy has been around for a while in the form of simmering resentment from the left and elsewhere.
For years, a lot of black commentators have stopped barely short of calling him a traitor for not exploiting the black branches of his family tree to the fullest. On the other hand, I've encountered many conservative longtime golfers who seem to resent him for popularizing their sport and attracting the unwashed to their closed, magnolia-scented circle. It's not about race with most of them, but it's not NOT about race with a few.
Once the scandal hit, people who previously couldn't articulate acceptable reasons to dislike Woods had an enormous reason to pile on him that everyone could agree on. A lot of the present anti-Woods sentiment comes from a healthy-minded disgust for the man's adulteries, disgust which I share. But a ton of it existed ante rem, waiting for a focus.
Ned Scarlet| 1.14.10 @ 11:25AM
I bet there is a soon to be or already made porn movie with the title, "Tiger's Wood."
These recent events remind me of joke we often told as juveniles. It goes something like this: How many wives did Brigham Young have? Eighteen and he played 'em all. Not a very good joke, but it illustrates the extent of the rebellious nature of kids in Utah during my youth.
Ken (Old Texican)| 1.14.10 @ 1:36PM
The difference between Tiger and Bubba: The ONLY thing Bubba was good at was lying.
...At least Tiger could keep his focus on the back nine.
MTB| 1.14.10 @ 3:13PM
Good article on the discrepancies between Clinton and other lying philanderers and Tiger Woods. Bill Clinton lied to us, the American people about his dalliances (sp?). I believe Hillary already knew and flat out didn't care, as long as he didn't get caught and cost "them" the presidency, so I'm not going to touch on that. He used the White House, the People's property as a house if ill-repute. And I'm not talking his private residence where I could almost forgive him for where he conducted his affairs, but the Oval Office! A room considered so sacred by Pres Reagan that he would not enter it without a suit jacket on. Clinton was disrespectful of his office, his family, Monica Lewisnsky, himself and Americans.
What Tiger did was just as wrong, and he deserves to lose his sponsorships because we can't look at him like we did before. However, he did not come out and outright lie to the American people, as if any of this was our business in the first place. As the son of an adulterer and the son-in-law of a serial adulterer, I feel bad for his family, especially his children. I know the effects that his actions are going to have on them. His actions have destroyed a family, but he doesn't deserve any further scrutiny than he has already received. I, for one, will not listen to, watch or read anymore news about Tiger Woods (unless it's about him golfing). He was dishonest with his wife, that's between them. He was honest with me. He admitted his faults. I'm moving on. I wish Tiger and his wife well as they sort through this mess.
As for Bill Clinton, I didn't like him in the first place, but now I don't like OR respect him. He is a liar, through-and-through. Why would I be interested in anything he has to say?
WRJonas | 1.14.10 @ 5:43PM
I still cringe when I think of Cliff Robertsons portrayal of JFK in PT-109. It was so blatantly fraudulent that the film stock reportedly wrinkled in the canisters.
But wait , we will eventually get THE BILL CLINTON STORY with a scene involving Bill and his discussion with Teddy about that darn Presidential endorsement.
That should be cringeworthy !
petronius| 1.15.10 @ 8:27PM
Yet again, the dividend of emotional investment is disappointment. And the pain is amplified by the nature of the sport and the contestant. The capitol is integrity and honor, as the contest is with oneself. Saying "I do" and renegging isn't comparable to improving a lie and taking a mulligan. Sign the license and take the vows and your life is no longer your own. The PGA has its bylaws also. A Rota would declare defective intent if Tiger really wants it both ways. But we play strict rules here.
Solo| 1.18.10 @ 11:01PM
For someone who is so disciplined on the golf course, he sure is scattered-brained in his personal life. No control at all. But...what can you say? He's a whore!
As sad as it is for his family, frankly, I don't watch or care about Tiger Woods outside of his skill at golf. And really...neither does anyone else--unless they have no life of their own.
As for his lost sponsors......
Let him win the Masters by 4 strokes this spring and they'll be back in bed with him faster than you can say "Orgy".
Because they're just whores, too!
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