Politicians and Sex

POLITICIANS AND SEX

March 14, 2008

This week I was a surprise guest on the Marty Griffin show on KDKA radio. The reason, the demise of NY Governor Eliot Spitzer and the comparison that this draws with our own former District Attorney John Pettit.

It does seem a bit odd at times to be the resident expert on the nefarious activities of our former District Attorney (given just how creepy his alleged acts are) it does fit with another aspect of my previous life.

When I started life I belived that would be a preacher, a man dedicted to God. Instead life seemed to lead me towards being a social worker, helping those in need. Both courses did have the common goal of assisting others with their lives. It also requires a bit of understanding of the human condition.

So when asked to be a guest on the subject of why politicians desire sex with prostitutes, the answers seem to flow easily.

1) Politicians crave power. Since the very people that are drawn to political power desire it, it does not seem surprising that those that desire power in public life would desire power in their sexual life. Can there be a greater power over another human being than to buy them for the mere purpose of using their body? At least in the case of Spitzer, he was paying dearly for his time ($4000+ for a session), while in the alleged case of our own bad boy of politics, John Pettit, he was allegedly exchanging the sexual act for easier treatment and some crack cocaine.

2) Ego maniacs view others as objects to be manipulated.

Those people obsessed with themselves (again read most political leaders) and their image are more likely to view the rest of us as objects to be manipulated for their own desires. So it would again not be surprising that someone that views others as an object would look to use a prostitiute. They are impersonal, they are not really human in the eyes of the user. In addition, the powerful men can view them as not being credible people, real people. They can justify their actions in their own mind by saying “Well no one really cares about this person”.
The truly sad part of this situation is that there is some truth to it. Most good people look down on the plight of the street hooker. Do we really care about their situation? Do we care that their situation has them selling their bodies for sex?

While by all accounts our own bad boys locally were willing to go with any woman, Spitzer only wanted the highest class hookers. He seemed to desire a safe relationship, while allegedly Pettit wanted to be with the down dirty on the street.

But both men were more than willing to prosecute others for their crimes. The difference was that Pettit was less viral in his assaults, more willing to look the other way on other mistakes. Spitzer instead was willing to prosecute everyone to advance his own career.
Pettit was a team player, a good old boy. Spitzer was a man that believed that he was better than everyone else.

Both men though apparently convinced themselves that they were better than everyone else. That they apparently and allegedly deserved to break the law for their own pleasure. Their own carnal needs were above their office, their families and the public trust.

Again both should be shown no mercy by the systems that they swore to uphold. Pettit had 24 years of terror on this county, allegedly hurting hundreds if not thousands of lives. Spitzer destroyed others for the goal of his own career, pursuing them even when the case and evidence was bad. A man that was unable to admit a mistake, a man that was about nothing but himself.

Both men were terrors to know. The worst thing that could happen to you in both cases was to actually get to know them. They were out for their own pleasures. Luckily they are now both out of office.