E.J. Dionne wants liberals to cut David Vitter some slack. I totally agree with his sentiment. I didn’t write about Vitter until I realized that Louisiana Republicans were plotting for his resignation. That made it a story to me. In a Senate where we have a nominal majority but cannot rely on Joe Lieberman and do not have the benefit of Tim Johnson’s vote, any advantage is alluring. Yes, Vitter is a world class hypocrite, but this is his personal life and adultery, even diaper-wearing adultery, is a fact of life among powerful politicians. It would be nice if things were different. As Dionne says:
The essential point, however, is that believing in a wall between the public and the private makes you a traditionalist, not a libertine. The traditionalist embraces a strict moral code but sees it as best enforced in the personal realm. We should judge public figures by how they meet their public responsibilities, and leave it to spouses, pastors, children and friends to praise or punish their private behavior.
But things are not so civilized in the modern game of politics. Dionne is being unrealistic. First, his call is basically an appeal for the Democrats to unilaterally disarm, as the GOP has never shown any mercy once they smell blood. And, even if there is some advantage in taking the high road (and I believe there is), this cat is already out of the bag.
Yet, there is an essential lesson here, and Democrats would be wise to heed it. Vitter’s ‘sin’ carries more weight precisely because he inveighed so heavily against such immorality. If the Dems want people to overlook their own infidelity they would do well to tread lightly on the infidelity of their opponents. Let the GOP cannibalize their own.
