My attorney Justin Levine blogs:
…I continue to laugh at people who insist that the sex lives of our politicians are none of our business. If you actually believe that, then I can only assume that you generally don’t care about the notion of conflicts of interest in either government or media circles – I point of view that I frankly find to be astonishing.
If the boss of a company is having an affair with a subordinate co-worker, all sorts of public scrutiny is invited through sexual harassment laws and the legal system. But when people with even more power in government and the media have affairs that potentially effect how taxpayer money is spent, who gets promoted in public office, or how officials are scutinized in the media, suddenly the finger-waggers show up to try and convince us it is none of our business. To that, I say “Harrumph!” (Actually, I never say ‘harrumph’, which is a pretty silly word. What I really say is not appropriate for a family blog such as this one.)
“Ah, but Justin, what if the affair is with someone outside of government or media circles? In that case, it surely is none of our business.”
My response to that is twofold: 1. How are we supposed to know that the person in question is outside conflict of interest circles unless the media takes an active role to verify as such? 2. How often are affairs by politicians really outside of such circles? (Government interns count too I’m afraid, since they are eventually able to receive perks and promotions at taxpayer expense.)
