  So, the most delicious sex scandal in the 2004 election season has ended with Illinois Senatorial candidate Jack Ryan dropping out of the race to replace Peter Fitzgerald. This is good news for Barak Obama, who was probably going to win anyway, but bad news for politics. I love sex scandals, don't get me wrong. Their is undeniable glee in the sweaty-browed responses of politicians struggling to explain themselves and knowing they are doomed. It doesn't help that politicians reinforce their image (the FCC madness is only one example of how politicians seek to create an image of purity and decency in Washington that is obviously hypocritical and false.
) It also doesn't help when you throw in a hot sci-fi nerd's wet dream like Seven of Nine. Still, wanting your wife to fuck you in public should never be a reason to drop out of a race. Sexual experimentation and sexual freedom should be exactly that -- sexual, experimental and free. I am happy that Mr. Obama didn't bring the issue into the race (it was mainly Chicago's media that did the work of unsealing the divorce records), even though the sleazy part of me is always delighted by mud-slinging, soap-opera style politics. Salon has a witty urlLink little take on the scandal. That privacy carries the day is largely for the good; there's an integrity and dignity to sexual discretion that anyone can appreciate.
The downside, however, is that we have very little idea of what kind of sex "normal" people desire and have (plenty of which falls outside the missionary zone). This basic ignorance is the agar in which sex scandals are grown. If it were common knowledge that yes, even accomplished, ambitious men (and women) on the Hill might favor sexual experimentation, then maybe we could focus on what really matters. Desire isn't partisan, kink knows no party line, and neither is germane when it comes to gauging one's leadership potential. How political can a personal life become? How long until every politician's ISP records are dredged up, and every visit to www.bootlicker.com or www.gigglytoplessteens.net is counted up and trotted out as political fodder? Is it only a matter of time until every horny IM, cam-photo and e-mail is snared for future torpedo power? It's as if the PATRIOT Act and the Meese Report got together and had a nosy little baby. Boy, I'd hate to see this monster when it grows up.
Scary thought, isn't it? This could be especially damaging to Tim's career. He is www.bootlicker.com's most frequent visitor. I have already encouraged him to draw out of his race against Pervez Musharraff for President of my Ass. 
