the rix mix

NY Rep. Lee resigns after shirtless photo story

CLARENCE, N.Y. – A married New York congressman accused of sending a shirtless photo of himself to a woman abruptly resigned Wednesday, saying he regretted actions that had hurt his family and others.

The gossip website Gawker reported Wednesday that Rep. Christopher Lee, a two-term Republican with a young son, had e-mailed the photo to a woman he met on the Craigslist classified-ads website.

Why is it always a surprise? Probably because we don't know who will be next, & it's rarely the politicians we expect (the shock of Clinton/Lewinsky wasn't so much that Bill did it, but who he did it with). These guys are not under-achievers & they're usually not late-bloomers, either; you can trace their ambitions all the way back to high school. So you'd think they'd add "don't mess around" to their list of Steps to Success. But there's psychology at work in these men I don't understand, a risk-taking that seems unnecessary. Most politicians  I've met - although they've all been local office-holders - aren't creative, or even particularly interesting on subjects other than politics. But for many, their out-sized egos are their most obvious personality traits.

Former New York Gov. David Paterson, who I happen to like, confessed that he had had an affair. Just an affair. His wife had one, too. Their marriage survived for better or worse. It seemed so - ordinary. Besides, he hadn't aspired to become a high profile governor of a high profile state. The guy he replaced had been caught charging visits to prostitutes on his credit card, & apparently had quite an addiction to them.

 Cheating on a sick wife & serving her divorce papers while she's hospitalized. Trying to pick up men in an airport bathroom. Trolling the internet & sending provocative photos to strangers. My fav, a governor telling the wife & kids he's hiking the Appalachian Trail when he's really in Buenos Aires boinking his señorita.

Labels: count the yoyos, in the news