A shameful story

Yesterday, CNN touted its "exclusive" coverage of a personal matter that political journalists of yore would have been ashamed to address.

Did President Kennedy's frequent boners impair or interfere in any way with the performance of his official duties? Not that I've read in numerous histories of his presidency. Mum was the word among knowing journalists assigned to his White House, a custom both quaint and judicious.

Bill Clinton's jollies — which he brilliantly maintained (I mean that sincerely) were not "sex" — were also no impediment to his presidential obligations. But by then political journalists were game for any sleaze, even though most Americans pretty much shrugged off Bill's dalliances. That, though, left journalists undeterred.

The only justification for outing a politician's extracurricular activities is when a blowhard moralist like Newt Gingrich has been running around informing certain young ladies that a gifted blowjob would, just as Bill maintained, not really be sex — so how 'bout it? But Bill wasn't an Elmer Gantry moralizer. And yes my description of Newt as a blowhard was a pun intended.

CNN's exclusive? "Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff acknowledged Saturday in a statement to CNN that he had an affair during his first marriage after the alleged details of the relationship were published by a British tabloid." Doug, I only regret not having lots of affairs during my first marriage. I might have endured her, and she me. 

I'm puzzled about CNN writing "the alleged details of the relationship." For Christ's sake, guys, Mr. Emhoff told you about it. At any rate, the instigating tattling tabloid was the execrable Daily Mail. (In February 2017, the British Wikipedia "banned the use of the Daily Mail as a reliable source," reports the American Wikipedia. The publication is known as much for its sensationalism as its unreliability, although the two are often coupled.)   

Mr. Emhoff was a man about the embarrassment."During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility," he said in a statement provided exclusively to CNN. And that's a quote. 

Well good for CNN. But I remain at a total loss as to why I and millions of others should have been informed of such. Does it affect Kamala's campaign message in any way? Does it have anything to do with what she's attempting to do? Is husband Doug running for office as a never-hypocrite? Is it pertinent in even the least sort of ways to the presidential contest? Rhetorical questions all.

The network could have put its reporting platform to better use by asking "I am a Christian" Donald Trump how he, like Newt, can yammer away about America's sinister loss of old-fashioned religious "values" when he, again like Newt, was hammering women or otherwise getting his jollies with those not named Mrs. Trump (God help 'em). That would be journalistically justifiable, as naked political hypocrisy always has been.  

I'm under no illusions that the Fourth Estate will ever regain its judiciousness in this category. But strangely, even though my birthdate prevented me from not reading of John Kennedy's affairs at the time he was having them, I miss those times terribly.

In 1929, the U.S. Army's top-secret code-breaking branch had its funding cut off by President Hoover's secretary of state, Henry Stimson, who legendarily said, "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail." Henry was wildly wrong in his diplomatic assessment, but he would have been spot on if he had said instead, Gentlemen do not read about each other's private affairs.

Comments

[Anne J]

This episode reflects more poorly on the scandal hungry media than on Mr. Emhoff. They have no problem snooping into private family matters, which to me, includes extramarital affairs. Maybe the hypocrite enabling media can get back to us when Mr. Emhoff is caught on tape bragging about grabbing women without consent.