Veteran journalist Eric Sevareid wrote a 1963 opinion that almost perfectly captures the essence of the presidential campaign of 2016. “Sin and Statecraft,” is how Sevareid titled his commentary on the sex scandals that rocked London, Rome and the delegate’s lounge at the United Nations in New York during the summer of 1963.
Sevareid was constrained in what he could say about the politicians involved in the sex scandals with the gorgeous and sexy young mistresses. In 2016 the traditional press is still constrained but far freer to report sex stories than 50 years ago. The Internet is wildly unconstrained on wildly sensational sex stories.
During the still scandalous 1963 Christine Keeler- Westminster sex scandal, a remark by an English writer summed up why the sex stories were so popular in Britain. Addressing a colleague, the man said, “My friend, you’ll discover one day that right under the surface, this is a nation of sex maniacs.”
The same discovery is front and center in America today. We relish rehashing the Clinton sex scandals of the 1990s. The sordid stories get more sordid and detailed with each telling.
We eagerly go to our news source each morning in hopes of reading more about the Clinton sex scandals. Better yet, we hope to learn more salacious details of those stories. Still better yet we hope to learn of more Clinton sex scandals. Is there any doubt that America 2016 is a nation of sex maniacs?
In Washington, lawmakers have gone sexually wild, so to speak. In addition to sex maniacs on the Capitol Steps (Rep. John and Rita Jenrette), in Capitol Hill offices (Barney Frank), and Tidal Basin (Rep. Wilbur Mills and The Argentine Firecracker), Washingtonians are sex maniacs in the Oval Office (Bill Clinton), and, dare I suggest, in hallowed academic institutions.
Recently I was in a Washington university library when I picked up from the floor what I thought was a wallet. It was, I discovered, a student’s condom wallet. Freshman biology, I seem to recall, is a popular subject that requires continued study, discussion and consensual practice.
The GOP presidential campaign participants got in a few sexual suggestions during televised debates. Hand size suggested penis size. Donald Trump, on national television, assured the nation his penis was not small. Personally, I was relieved to hear this. Perhaps, Bill Clinton sent Mr. Trump a congratulatory message.
There were also comments about Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and his multiple mistresses. Someone made sexually suggestive comments about his wife, Heidi. Trump made a bloody comment about Fox news anchor Megyn Kelley’s likely cycle. A New York Times article on Donald Trump’s past relationships self-destructed when some of Trump’s past lovers claimed they were misquoted to make Trump look bad. Politics?
Trump’s gorgeous wife, Melania, a jewelry designer, a former model as well as architect, once posed suggestively. So did former GOP Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, and Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis. Message: Republicans can show skin, damn it!
Scores of photographers are at the ready to record the facial reaction of former President Bill Clinton whenever he is near an attractive woman. The public wants to share a smile with Bubba as his eyes bulge.
The GOP establishment feared Donald Trump’s unconventional past, including sex stories and photos with near nude female models, would not sit well with grassroots Republicans. The GOP establishment was hugely wrong. Grassroots Republicans are feasting on a candidate they love, admire and respect. His semi-nude models, too.
The GOP establishment like a certain male body part has diminished in size and importance by being out of touch with grassroots members and the new Donald and Melania Trump wing of the party. If the GOP establishment rises again, it may take time.
As a result of all this sex in 2016 politics, this is the most sexually unconventional campaign with the most sexually unconventional candidates in sexual and political history. It reminds one of the 1970s and the famous tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. It was billed as the Battle of the Sexes. Could a woman defeat a man in the traditional men’s sport of tennis?
Billie Jean King did defeat Bobby Riggs. It was not real tennis, though. It was an exhibition game that enriched both King and Riggs. Riggs later played tennis against Dr. Rene Richards, the transgender pioneer. Perhaps, the best said about these tennis matches is they got folks talking and thinking about lesbian and transgender athletes.
The 2016 presidential campaign is no joke. The outcome will determine the leader, penis or not, of the world’s only superpower.
It may be a battle of the sexes if Mrs. Clinton can convincingly and honestly defeat persistent Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders, a very likable, honest and unsexy man. If the campaign is between Trump and Clinton, I predict voters are in store for a sexually suggestive campaign designed for “a nation of sex maniacs.”
Longtime Washington diplomat Jim Patterson writes from California and Washington. JEPCapitolHill@gmail.com
