I really don’t care about Herman Cain’s affair. Of all the reasons to not vote for him, and they are myriad, this doesn’t even make the top one thousand. His love life is his own business and that of his family. We don’t know the circumstances surrounding his relationships, or anything else of that nature, and frankly, it is none of our business. If this is something he kept from his family, the pain they are going through is enough without the punditry piling on.
But unfortunately for our politics, this is going to happen again and again. I can’t forget what we went through in the 90s when we impeached a president over statements surrounding his affair. Many Republicans, including those in the Republican presidential field, made political hay out of Clinton’s indiscretions. To not be held up to the same standards would, of course, be a bit hypocritical. I’m not sure what Herman Cain thought of Clinton’s impeachment, but it’s clear that a lot of people on his side want to judge people based on their affairs. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
The worst thing about this affair, however, is that it’s the affair, and not Cain’s history of sexual harassment, which will be his downfall. Apparently, it’s no big deal to use your power to harass women, but to engage in a consensual relationship with another adult is truly terrible. I don’t mean to downplay extramarital affairs or the hurt they cause; I’ve seen the consequences. But I can understand that good people can have affairs because things happen. I can’t understand, or tolerate, people who abuse their power and position to harass others. Say what you will about the particulars of the accusations against Cain, it seems to me that he did have a history of inappropriate behavior. That is far more troubling to me than an affair.
It’s sad to see Cain end his campaign in this way; like I said, I’d rather see him lose because of his politics, not his personal life. Now he and his family are going to have to deal with the media scrutiny and the pain in a very public way. He did, however, bring it on himself to a certain extent. What I’d like to see is a bipartisan time-out on the private consensual lives for all politicians so we can move past this. Until then, however, this perverse morality is what we will have to deal with in our politics.