Cheaters who prosper

Mayors, presidents -- many have strayed. But do naughty Republicans fare better than naughty Democrats?

LOS ANGELES MAYOR Antonio Villaraigosa, the latest in a long line of political leaders to be caught having an extramarital affair, would have done well to consult the bible before cheating on his wife. Not the King James version but the political bible, in which the seventh commandment states: "Thou shalt not commit adultery, unless you're a Republican."

Perhaps it's more perception than reality, but it seems that Democrats' sexual shenanigans do more damage to their political careers than Republicans' do. Examples of Republican leaders who have gone on to enjoy long and fruitful political careers after dumping or openly betraying their spouses include GOP presidential front-runner and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who cavorted publicly with his mistress and famously announced his divorce in a news conference before he had informed his wife; Sen. John McCain of Arizona, another presidential candidate, who remarried just one month after his 1980 divorce; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who divorced his first wife while she was recovering from cancer surgery; and our own Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, elected by a landslide despite widespread allegations that he took an overly hands-on approach toward female co-workers.

Dems who have been "caught with their pants down" and paid a price (pulling their pants down was free, they had to pay politically) include Gary Hart, San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, who lost his job as Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Clinton administration, Rep. Gary Condit of Modesto, and of course President Clinton.

But it may well be that Republicans are better at using their opponents' sexual peccadilloes against them, summoning up the moral outrage among voters that can be deadly in a close race. It also doesn't help roving-eyed Democrats that women are a mainstay of the party, and women don't appreciate men who cheat.

Maybe some Republicans are better at portraying holier-than-thou hypocrites because of their penchant for lying? Is that what you meant? Or maybe it's because the corporate media delights in headlines about Democrats because of who they're owned by? And how many of the media who get off on their voyeuristic obsession with horny Democrats are guilty of the same thing? And if Democratic women "don't appreciate men who cheat", wouldn't they retaliate against Republican cheaters more than those in their own party?