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Thank You, Sex Scandal!

Posted Mar 18, 08 5:50 PM CDT in Politics 

(Newser) – Here's to the US sex scandal! Eliot Spitzer and Larry Craig make American politicians seem almost human, Gabor Steingart writes in Der Spiegel. He claims that prudish Americans are fueled by secret lust—"and, in the case of some politicians, naked lunacy." Which makes public shame "an invaluable benefit" to the body politic.

"The political parties can no longer lord it over their voters as the guardians of public virtue," Steingart writes. In fact, whispers of an affair may help some candidates—like the aging John McCain. How better to boost the candidacy of a 71-year-old, deemed too old by some voters, than to spread "the suspicion that he is still as vigorous as a buck in rutting season?"

Source Der Spiegel

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U.S. Sen. John McCain talks to reporters during his visit to Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, March 18, 2008. McCain, the likely Republican nominee for the U.S. presidential elections this year, said Tuesday that...   (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
This copy of the cover from the Winter 2007 issue of the magazine 02138 shows former New York State Attorney General and Gov. Eliot Spitzer posing for an article titled "Power Couples."   (AP Photo/Jake Chessum, 02138)
New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation amid a prostitution scandal as wife Silda looks on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 in his offices in New York City.   (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, questions Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008.   (AP Photo)
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