There used to be only two kinds of political office in the
United States, elective and appointive. The Republicans have
invented the third kind: disappointive.
Less than a month into the tenure of the new Republican
majority in the House of Representatives one of their rank-and-file
was caught in rank behavior and filed his resignation. This despite
the elaborate evasive action he took in trying to pick up women on
the Internet by sending out a shirtless picture of himself. How
could he have anticipated that people would still be able to
identify him as a stuffed shirt?
The genius in question is a fellow named Chris Lee from
upstate New York. He answered a want ad on Craig’s List from a
woman who sought — get this — a mature guy. Naturally, if you
look for a mate wanting, your mate will be found wanting. But the
broader question for the nation is whether the Republicans leave
something to be desired — leave something valuable, such as our
trust, just to be desired in shallow ways.
Now I confess to
having written this article once already,
but it begs for a revisit. This is a critical moment in the
evolution of our politics, and we can only survive with the
fittest. This new bunch came to town with great promise of acuity
and their moment should not be squandered on promiscuity. Keep the
promise you made to the cutie you married and serve the people
humbly, that’s the advice they need to follow.
Ronald Reagan wrote his son, Michael, on his wedding day:
“If you truly love a girl, you shouldn’t ever want her to feel,
when she sees you greet a secretary or a girl you both know, that
humiliation of wondering if she was someone who caused you to be
late coming home, nor should you want any other woman to be able to
meet your wife and know she was smiling behind her eyes as she
looked at her, the woman you love, remembering this was the woman
you rejected even momentarily for her favors.” There is nothing
that needs to be added to that in terms of morality, personal
loyalty, and even practicality.
After fifty-two years of living and observing life, I can
tell you that the average of other women lags behind the average of
wives in every area: looks, intelligence, social skills,
personality, demeanor, not to mention achievement and dignity. As
James Thurber wrote in the New York Times almost a century
ago, the non-wife has two key virtues. She builds you up without
challenging you and she can be unloaded with less consequence. All
the things that voters used to do for Congressmen, in
fact.
We are living in too important a time and our
representatives in high office have been entrusted with too
important a task. At this point, they cannot cheat on their wives
without cheating on us, cheating on the country, cheating on the
future. Somehow they have to find the strength to put aside the
whims and the women. Park those fantasies off for future reference
when you are cashing retirement checks and your sun visor is not
reflecting back on the voters.
Look, this is a lot less easy than it sounds, I know.
There is plenty of temptation anywhere, and it is only heightened
by the junction of ambition and power that is Washington, the
junction of ambition and money that is New York, the junction of
ambition and beauty that is Hollywood. I am not judging Christopher
Lee, not by a long shot. I am not trying to portray myself as a
better person by one iota. My plea — my hope — is that the higher
calling substitute for the lower urges. As Maimonides declared:
“Sexual fantasy can only occupy a mind diverted from
wisdom.”
We are all human beings with a full complement of
frailties. Still, it is possible, though not without great
commitment, to devote ourselves to noble causes. This is more true
at a time of national emergency. Guys, we are looking for mature
people, fit and cheerful and goal-oriented, not given to deceiving
themselves and others, people who take responsibility
and address themselves to the long term. But we have been
burnt too many times before.
