Of Sex And Leadership

Imagine the scene in good old Germany: The leader of the country, accused of abusing his power to the end of sexual harassment, gains a never before seen level of popularity. Absurd? Agreed, but absurd for what reason? Of course, Chancellor Kohl is not exactly as much the All American Boy type of man that Bill Clinton represents to his fellow countrymen - and women, but even if he were, and were involved in an affair the likes of Lewinskygate, the scandal would be none. But why so? The simple explanation for so striking a difference is mentality. While Americans are constantly making it their business to know everything about their leading men down by a science, European politics leave no place for the comparison of presidential candidates in matters of life expectancy, personal problems or, if push comes to shove, sexual preference. Remember the affair revolving around late French president Mitterands illegitimate daughter? Measured by American standards, his life as a politician would have been over. Not so in Europe, where privacy, even, or dare we say, especially a statesmans privacy is regarded to be no business for the public. In America, the question is: If a man cant even get his own life right, how on earth can he run the country? The old world asks a more to the point Do these affairs interfere with the way he does run it? While Clinton might have cursed the all-too investigative media at first, he might now well appreciate their interference, as it has not only improved his general status, but also his acceptance among his own peer group, white men from the Southern states. Being a democrat has never been easy for him in the highly Republican South, but now, that has changed. Maybe this was best explained by Tim Russert, host of NBCs Meet the Press and the networks Washington bureau chief in a recent interview: They say: Clinton? With the intern? In the Oval Office? Hes our man! Clinton? With the intern? In the Oval Office? Hes our man! - Meet the Presss Tim Russert on Southerners reactions to the Lewinsky affair Now, as the waves of Lewinskys medial omnipresence are flattening and the Oral Office jokes in the late night shows are becoming more and more seldom, America has, once again, returned to an almost European state of normality. But it is only a question of time until the next scandal finds its way up to the surface of D. C. s streets and into all those white buildings that constitute the heart of the United States. When that time has come, the nation will really need Gods blessing. God bless America, God bless internship, God bless privacy. ( ...