Sex and Scandal: Party Differences

Bad news for Democrats: A Washington madam is threatening to go public with her client list in a law suit.

Half a century’s experience suggests Republicans are susceptible to scandals over money and power. Sex is more likely to be the weakness of Democrats, who take pride in being people persons.

Start with JFK, who once told British PM Harold Macmillan that he would get “terrible headaches” from going without a woman for three days and was not known to consume much aspirin. He was followed by LBJ, who tended to favor his female staffers.

Then came Nixon, who apparently was faithful to Pat and almost destroyed the Constitution. If he had had a little friend, would there have been an enemies list?

In the past decade, there was an impeachment trial over Bill Clinton’s lies about spilling his seed in the Oval Office. As far as we know, George W. Bush is spilling only blood in Iraq.

The one client named so far by the madam, Deborah Palfrey, is Dick Morris, who had to quit Clinton’s reelection campaign after letting a prostitute listen in on his calls to the President.

Federal prosecutors are seeking a gag order to keep the lady from naming names but, even if she does, after Ann Coulter’s slurs against John Edwards, there might be a small silver lining for Democrats wooing the NASCAR vote.