The age of the bedroom scandal

Here's a quick trivia question: Aside from being famous American politicians, what do Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton have in common?

They were all well known for having relationships with women other than their wives. The fact that only the last name on the list faced real public scrutiny for his indiscretions says a lot about how our society and media have changed over the past few decades.

Once upon a time, corruption and criminality were the harbingers of shame and political ruin. People cared little about the sin of adultery, which has no chance of leading to a grand jury indictment.

Hamilton, the guy on the $10 bill, once published a lengthy pamphlet to clear his name from political scandal. In it, he conceded "an irregular and indelicate amour" in order to refute the "more heinous charge" of being extorted by his mistress' husband. His bedroom sin was a secondary concern.

Of course, if Hamilton were alive today, he would face the same media scrutiny that Mark Sanford, Glen Richardson, Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton and others know so well.

These days, a bedroom scandal is more damaging to a recognized political figure than nearly any other form of misconduct.

Lewis Lapham tackles this topic in depth with his excellent essay titled "Doing the Laundry" (Harper's Magazine, May 2010).

Lapham argues that the focus on the personal lives of politicians is keeping some of the most qualified among us from running for office.

"Given the constant croaking of the blogs that live in hope of catching flies, any politician old enough to know that he hasn't led a blameless life must also know that sooner or later the National Enquirer will empty a chamber pot on his head," Lapham wrote.

"Which means that the only people likely to stand for public office will be those as self-deluded as John Edwards and Sarah Palin."

National coverage of the 2012 election cycle clearly demonstrates the type of flies the mainstream media is trying to catch.

Here in Georgia, we have two men running for governor who have been accused of serious ethics violations, which could lead to indictments.

Front-runner John Oxendine has been accused of accepting $120,000 in illegal campaign donations from 10 loosely connected political action committees tied to a Georgia insurance baron.

Nathan Deal, who resigned from Congress to run for governor, stepped down just as House Ethics Committee investigators were digging into whether the Republican illegally used his influence to steer state contracts to a salvage company he owns.

Neither of these stories have gained traction outside of Georgia and both candidates appear to be unfazed. Their poll numbers remain strong.

What has garnered the national spotlight is the allegation that South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley took part in a pair of extramarital affairs.

Despite the scandal, Haley defeated the other three Republican candidates by a wide margin Tuesday and nearly avoided a runoff.

Perhaps the voters in Mark Sanford's home state are more concerned with voting records, platforms and proposals than the alleged details of a candidate's sex life.

Records, platforms and actual criminal scandals are what the media should focus on as well.