Sex and Lobbyists

Last week, Shaun Mullen attempted to remind us that the McCain-NYT flap was less about sex, more about lobbyists and hypocrisy. Separately, Patrick Appel (filling in for Andrew Sullivan) noted: “… the sex scandal, if real, would sink [McCain]. Arguing about lobbyists is somewhat academic; a sex scandal any voter can understand.”

Despite the efforts of writers like Shaun to keep the focus where it probably should be, I suspect Patrick will ultimately be proven correct.

“Lobbyists? …. Yawn. Sex? … Wait a minute. Somebody had sex? Turn up the volume on that there TV, sweetheart.”

Of course, the sophomoric minds and purient interests of “the general public” may not be entirely to blame. Arguing about who is the bigger hypocrite when it comes to condemning/working with lobbyists will never be an easy conundrum to evaluate in quantitative terms. Lobbyists swarm like flies in both the figurative and literal swamps on which Washington was built, and no dose of chemical repellant will banish them from the offices, hallways, and hearing rooms in which elected officials congregate.

Thus, sooner or later, try as they might, every politician will encounter, deal with, and (to varying degrees) embrace lobbyists, even the squeaky-clean Obama.

So, who’s the bigger lobbyist-hypocrite? Pundits and pedestrians will argue that point for months, and I imagine the argument will never be settled. Sex, on the other hand, is much easier to measure. You’ve either had it or your haven’t. Even Bill Clinton learned that lesson.