Is a Sex Scandal the End of a Career? Not Necessarily
Political sex scandals have been present in the U.S. for ages. Currently, a few well-known politicians who had to move into the shadows as a result of their controversial activities are trying to make their way back. According to experts, voters are increasingly tolerant of them. They are turning a blind eye, particularly when a politician finds forgiveness with his wife.
Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner from New York has long been in the limelight of the evening satirical shows that are so vastly popular in the U.S. Two years ago, he thoughtlessly sent via Twitter a link to some very suggestive pictures. One of them even showed his manhood in tight boxer shorts. At the time, Weiner was a rising star of the Democrats, just married to one of the closest coworkers of Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, who was expecting his child.
At first, he was adamant that it was not him in the photos, accusing hackers of breaking into his Twitter account. However, a few days later, he admitted that he had sent his pictures to several women whom he claims he had never met. In June 2011, under pressure from fellow Democrats, including President Barack Obama, Weiner stepped down and completely withdrew from the public life.
That changed in April 2013, when he appeared, together with his wife, on the front page of The New York Times. He confessed all his mistakes and weaknesses, and his wife gave him her full support. The article was generally understood as “setting the ground” for Weiner to run for mayor of New York in 2013. A poll carried out by a former strategist for the Obama campaign showed that voters are willing to forgive Weiner under certain conditions.
The Governor Disappears
Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is another example of a politician fighting to make his way back into the voters' good books. In 2009, he virtually disappeared into thin air for a few days. Neither his wife nor any of his coworkers knew where he was, as the governor did not bother to answer their calls. Later it came to light that he was visiting his lover in Argentina.
Now he is running for the United States House of Representatives in the South Carolina midterm election, which takes place in just over a week. At the beginning of April he won the Republican primary for the nomination. Sanford apologized to the voters, explaining that the affair did not affect his professionalism and made him more “human.” During the campaign, he presented his Argentinian fiancée as the love of his life.
Americans More Tolerant
According to political public relations consultant Strategic Vision LLC, politicians caught red-handed in a sex scandal stand a good chance of making it back into the game. “We've become over and over again more used to scandals in our public figures, and more accepting,” CEO David Johnson says. “It's no longer a big deal.” Back in 1987, an extramarital relationship ended the political career of Gary Hart, a Republican Party favorite in the presidential election. He got only a small percentage of the vote when he tried to make a comeback to the world of politics.
Four years later, Bill Clinton was elected president despite having found himself in hot water over his affair with Paula Jones. Despite his next romance 10 years later, that time with intern Monica Lewinsky, he remains one of the best-liked politicians, surveys suggest.
Another example comes from the last Senate elections. A senator from Louisiana caught with a prostitute was reelected, which, according to Johnson, proves that a "sex scandal does not necessarily lead to the end of one’s political career.”
Tax Fraud Worse than Cheating
The above conclusion was drawn by Professor Michael Miller of the University of Illinois, who investigated human behavior toward financial and moral political scandals. As Miller points out, there are huge differences for the voters between being unfaithful and embezzling funds for a campaign, tax fraud or being on the take — which are far worse.
“People respond more negatively to financial scandals than moral scandals when they do not involve abuses of power,” Miller claims.
He goes on to say that the data from various studies indicate that over 50 percent of the members of Congress who had been implicated in different scandals, the majority of which were related to infidelity to their spouses, were re-elected. “I am not able to back it up by any date, but I would venture a guess that nowadays, scandals come to light more often thanks to the development of technology — such as the Internet, social media — and Americans have gotten used to them.”*
Americans are becoming more liberal and more likely to separate the private and public life of politicians. “They are more capable of forgiveness and giving them a second chance, especially if a politician was forgiven by his wife. It boils down to this: If the wife forgives him, who am I, a voter, to condemn him?”* explains Johnson. Certainly, everything largely depends on the nature of a scandal as well as whether a politician, like Clinton for example, is well-liked and respected for his work. Women would find re-establishing themselves on the political scene after a sex scandal much more difficult. “Women have to live up to much higher moral standards. Voters’ expectations of them are much stricter,” asserted Johnson.
It Is Not So Easy To Come Back
According to Johnson, there is a clear-cut strategy a politician has to obey to make a successful comeback. “My first advice would be go on one of the late night shows. Weiner should poke fun at himself and defuse the situation ... Exhaust the media by holding a press conference ... Adopt an issue the public cares about” and “show stability: Demonstrate in appearances and interviews that you and your wife have dealt with the issue and she supports you. Open up to every detail of the pain, anger and then forgiveness that happened, so voters feel that they, too, can forgive.”
Until recently, Mark Sanford obeyed this advice to the letter. The election seemed to be in his pocket until he unfortunately made a fatal slip a few days ago. Only one week after winning the Republican nomination, his wife accused him of illegal entry into their house. She found him with their son, which was against the court order that forbade them from visiting children while they were staying with the other parent. The Republicans immediately withdrew their support for Sanford.**
“It might be his political end. The public could have forgiven him his Argentinian lover because of his heartfelt apologies and treated it as a single slip-up. However, this last incident might be taken as a sign that he has not learned from his mistakes,”* said Johnson. As he admits, for a long time politics in the U.S. has been becoming more and more shown business-like. A politician's success is largely based on the image he creates around himself.
*Editor's Note: These quotes, while accurately translated, could not be verified.
**Editor’s Note: Since the original publication of this article, the special election in South Carolina was held; Mark Sanford won the seat.
Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner from New York has long been in the limelight of the evening satirical shows that are so vastly popular in the U.S. Two years ago, he thoughtlessly sent via Twitter a link to some very suggestive pictures. One of them even showed his manhood in tight boxer shorts. At the time, Weiner was a rising star of the Democrats, just married to one of the closest coworkers of Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, who was expecting his child.
At first, he was adamant that it was not him in the photos, accusing hackers of breaking into his Twitter account. However, a few days later, he admitted that he had sent his pictures to several women whom he claims he had never met. In June 2011, under pressure from fellow Democrats, including President Barack Obama, Weiner stepped down and completely withdrew from the public life.
That changed in April 2013, when he appeared, together with his wife, on the front page of The New York Times. He confessed all his mistakes and weaknesses, and his wife gave him her full support. The article was generally understood as “setting the ground” for Weiner to run for mayor of New York in 2013. A poll carried out by a former strategist for the Obama campaign showed that voters are willing to forgive Weiner under certain conditions.
The Governor Disappears
Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is another example of a politician fighting to make his way back into the voters' good books. In 2009, he virtually disappeared into thin air for a few days. Neither his wife nor any of his coworkers knew where he was, as the governor did not bother to answer their calls. Later it came to light that he was visiting his lover in Argentina.
Now he is running for the United States House of Representatives in the South Carolina midterm election, which takes place in just over a week. At the beginning of April he won the Republican primary for the nomination. Sanford apologized to the voters, explaining that the affair did not affect his professionalism and made him more “human.” During the campaign, he presented his Argentinian fiancée as the love of his life.
Americans More Tolerant
According to political public relations consultant Strategic Vision LLC, politicians caught red-handed in a sex scandal stand a good chance of making it back into the game. “We've become over and over again more used to scandals in our public figures, and more accepting,” CEO David Johnson says. “It's no longer a big deal.” Back in 1987, an extramarital relationship ended the political career of Gary Hart, a Republican Party favorite in the presidential election. He got only a small percentage of the vote when he tried to make a comeback to the world of politics.
Four years later, Bill Clinton was elected president despite having found himself in hot water over his affair with Paula Jones. Despite his next romance 10 years later, that time with intern Monica Lewinsky, he remains one of the best-liked politicians, surveys suggest.
Another example comes from the last Senate elections. A senator from Louisiana caught with a prostitute was reelected, which, according to Johnson, proves that a "sex scandal does not necessarily lead to the end of one’s political career.”
Tax Fraud Worse than Cheating
The above conclusion was drawn by Professor Michael Miller of the University of Illinois, who investigated human behavior toward financial and moral political scandals. As Miller points out, there are huge differences for the voters between being unfaithful and embezzling funds for a campaign, tax fraud or being on the take — which are far worse.
“People respond more negatively to financial scandals than moral scandals when they do not involve abuses of power,” Miller claims.
He goes on to say that the data from various studies indicate that over 50 percent of the members of Congress who had been implicated in different scandals, the majority of which were related to infidelity to their spouses, were re-elected. “I am not able to back it up by any date, but I would venture a guess that nowadays, scandals come to light more often thanks to the development of technology — such as the Internet, social media — and Americans have gotten used to them.”*
Americans are becoming more liberal and more likely to separate the private and public life of politicians. “They are more capable of forgiveness and giving them a second chance, especially if a politician was forgiven by his wife. It boils down to this: If the wife forgives him, who am I, a voter, to condemn him?”* explains Johnson. Certainly, everything largely depends on the nature of a scandal as well as whether a politician, like Clinton for example, is well-liked and respected for his work. Women would find re-establishing themselves on the political scene after a sex scandal much more difficult. “Women have to live up to much higher moral standards. Voters’ expectations of them are much stricter,” asserted Johnson.
It Is Not So Easy To Come Back
According to Johnson, there is a clear-cut strategy a politician has to obey to make a successful comeback. “My first advice would be go on one of the late night shows. Weiner should poke fun at himself and defuse the situation ... Exhaust the media by holding a press conference ... Adopt an issue the public cares about” and “show stability: Demonstrate in appearances and interviews that you and your wife have dealt with the issue and she supports you. Open up to every detail of the pain, anger and then forgiveness that happened, so voters feel that they, too, can forgive.”
Until recently, Mark Sanford obeyed this advice to the letter. The election seemed to be in his pocket until he unfortunately made a fatal slip a few days ago. Only one week after winning the Republican nomination, his wife accused him of illegal entry into their house. She found him with their son, which was against the court order that forbade them from visiting children while they were staying with the other parent. The Republicans immediately withdrew their support for Sanford.**
“It might be his political end. The public could have forgiven him his Argentinian lover because of his heartfelt apologies and treated it as a single slip-up. However, this last incident might be taken as a sign that he has not learned from his mistakes,”* said Johnson. As he admits, for a long time politics in the U.S. has been becoming more and more shown business-like. A politician's success is largely based on the image he creates around himself.
*Editor's Note: These quotes, while accurately translated, could not be verified.
**Editor’s Note: Since the original publication of this article, the special election in South Carolina was held; Mark Sanford won the seat.