How Do We Let This Happen?

As citizens of the United States of America, we have the privilege of living in a democracy, and thus it is bestowed upon us to elect leaders that will represent us in government. After exhausting campaigns, there is not much we do not know about the people serving America on our behalf. The same goes for appointed officials; local, state, and the federal government perform thorough background checks on everything from personal lives to tax records to ensure our leaders are in fact qualified to be our leaders. So why, time after time, do politicians get away with corruption and scandals? Today, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R) admitted to having an affair with an Argentine woman, Maria, since July 2008. Even worse, he finally fessed up after a 4-day disappearing act--how does a United States Governor go away without anyone knowing!?--where it turns out he was...back in Argentina! (One can only presume he was saying "adios" to his senorita). As if the affair wasn't bad enough, the neglect of his gubernatorial work is even more concerning, and honestly, the whole thing just blows my mind.

Gov. Sanford's infidelity is just another item on the laundry list of recent political scandals.

• Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Enough said.


• Gov. Jim McGreevey (D, NJ), married and father of two, admits he is gay and had an affair with a man


• Rep. Mark Foley (R, FL) is accused of sending sexually explicit IMs and emails to congressional pages. The kicker: he resigns and checks into rehab for alcoholism


• Sen. David Vitter (R, LA)'s phone number appears on the records of a DC escort service.

Shall I go on? Yes? If you insist...

• (My Personal Favorite Scandal) Sen. Larry Craig (R, ID) tries to solicit sex in a bathroom stall (he claims he has a "wide stance") in a Minneapolis airport...from a cop. He pleads guilty and resigns, then tries to rescind his plea and un-resign. Oh, and he denies being gay. HA!


• Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D, NY), known for fighting corruption, is found to have solicited sex from a prostitute and resigns. He is now writing for a really crappy magazine.


• Fmr Sen. John Edwards (D, NC) fesses up to having an affair after vehemently denying it two years earlier, killing his bid to become the Democrat presidential nominee in 2008.


• Sen. John Ensign (R, NV) also admits to having an affair with a female employee.

And those were just the sex scandals. Don't forget Sen. Ted Stevens (R, AK), who embezzled $250,000 worth of gifts from his oil company. Or Rep. Tim Mahoney (D, FL) who agreed to pay an employee $120,000 to keep her from suing him for sexual harassment--side note: Mahoney served the same district as Foley after Foley resigned...that district is really screwed. And Rep. Vito Fossella (R, NY) was found guilty of DUI and then admitted to having an extramarital affair and child. Double whammy! (By the way, the pictures take up a little room, so I don't put on too many just to save some space. But if I could make a collage of all of these mugshots/teary-eyed apologies, it would make for a)great wallpaper and b)always a good laugh).

Yes, that was a long list and maybe a waste of some space, but I think it really serves a purpose; Look at all the scummy people that we are choosing to represent us! I don't know anybody who would want to be represented by a runaway adulterer like Gov. Sanford. But here's the issue. These elected and appointed officials/leaders/dirtbags are citizens just like you and me. Can we and should we hold them to a higher standard? Aren't they humans too, and thus prone to making (terrible) mistakes? Of course they are vulnerable to making mistakes like everybody else, but they must be held accountable for their actions. What are we doing wrong, putting these people in office?! The representatives of the most powerful country in the world shouldn't be liars, schemers, adulterers, cheaters, and embezzlers. Sure, they are entitled to a personal life, but not one of an average Joe. They should be our role models and rise above sex scandals and political corruption. Today's news further damages the reputation of "government" as a whole, and only we can take action to fix it by voting in true representatives. The good news: the list of scandals is pretty evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans...who says bipartisanship is dead?

P.S. Transformers 2 is UH-MAY-ZING. It hasn't gotten a single good review, but I haven't heard anybody under 30 years old utter a single complaint. T-Minus 3 weeks until Harry Potter 6, another movie which I will surely see at midnight. Stay tuned for an eventual post about midnight viewings.

P.S.S. The US beat Spain, the #1 soccer team in the world, in the Confederations Cup today, 2-0. Sunday is the Championship game against Brazil or South Africa. And if that's not enough proof that God exists, Perez Hilton got punched in the face. Aaaah, life is so good.

Finally...This is a terrible idea. I love the Oscars, but if they get any bigger and the show gets any longer, a lot of people are going to get turned off.