In the wake of the announcement of the surge in Afghanistan, and the revelations that Tiger Woods was letting his little head do his thinking, my mind has wandered over to the man whose penis has given us the most trouble. Including our problems with this war in Asia.
That man of course is Bill Clinton. #42.
And that certain Monica Lewinsky issue.
You see, I have no intellectual issue with rich and powerful men (or women) who have sex with the young women who throw themselves at them. Even though I do understand the repercussions and the impact that these things have on families.
My father had an affair when I was a teenager. We found out on Christmas Day when I was 17. And we learnt that my father was leaving us (and the country) for this new woman. It hurt like hell. My mothers devastation was so great that it’s affected my relationships ever since and it’s why, despite opportunity and desire, I’ve never cheated.
But I have been successful in my career, and worked up a fair bit of charm, and I have seen how this makes you desirable to people who otherwise may not look twice. Which is in part, as ugly as it sounds to say it, one part of the desire to reach the top. To have this power to pick the best mate. Or to mate with as many people as possible. Whichever is your preference. Or maybe you don’t have that preference, but I believe it’s still the underpinning of the drive to reach the top, this sexual one.
Don’t rich men work harder than anyone else (and often lie, cheat and steal… or other gentler forms of rule breaking) to get laid. And not just laid. But to be able to choose from the best that there is. Or have the most of the best? Even after they are married they have a hard time stopping. Its a natural urge (and one of these days I’ll post on monogamy.)
It’s always been a staple saying of mine in debating these issues to ask the fundamental question. ”What’s the point of being the most powerful man in the entire world if that doesn’t allow you to sleep with whoever you want?”
You have to admit that both Tiger and Bill married from the very top of the pile. Elin Nordegren is perhaps one of the prettiest faces I’ve ever seen. And in the age of the Internet, I’ve seen the photos of a lot of beautiful women. Hilary Rodham may not be a looker, but damn, she is smart, charismatic, powerful and perhaps even more desirable as a mate than someone who is just beautiful (not Elin is just that, but we don’t know since she’s always been pretty private.)
And what does Bills Johnson have to do with Afghanistan? It all comes down to the political shit-storm of the Lewinski scandal. Bill had chances to take out Osama Bin Laden but didn’t, because he didn’t want the negative publicity right when he was facing impeachment. If that had happened, perhaps there would have been no 9/11 and we wouldn’t be fighting in a country so resource poor that it will never be stable. There will always be fighting and warlords and corruption because there is so little to fight over, that you literally have to fight and be corrupt to get ahead. That’s why Afghanistan, and Chad, and the Sudan, and all these countries are like they are.
I was reading this fantastic article on #42 on my new favorite web hangout, Foreign Policy, and it made me think to how much Bill Clinton could have done had the political system been in his favour. He’s a smart guy who was a real leader and its guys like him that should be Presidents. I think he could have done a lot of good for America and the world. But little Willy, while it got him to the top, it also got in the way.
