In the wake of political sex scandals including South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Nevada Sen. John Ensign, ABC's Cokie Roberts took the opportunity on June 25 to suggest that the fundamental flaw in each case was the male gender.
"World News with Charles Gibson" anchor asked question of why such affairs ever begin.
"It's an admission that can doom the most promising political career," Gibson said. "So, why do politicians tempt fate and cheat on their wives? Why do so many think they can get away it?"
ABC correspondent John Berman's report tried to rationalize marital infidelity as "politics as usual" and part of the narcissism that comes with being a politician. Berman explained the recent rash of infidelity scandals weren't bound by geography, political party or sexual orientation.
"Yes, the recent American political map of infidelity is bi-coastal, bi-partisan and bisexual," Berman said. "In addition to Ensign and Sanford, you have John Edwards in North Carolina, the mayor of Los Angeles, the former mayor of Detroit, Sen. Vitter in Louisiana, Eliot Spitzer in New York and former Gov. Jim McGreevey in New Jersey. They know it spells political disaster, so why do they keep doing it?"
However, Berman discovered one common thread among the list he rattled off - their gender. "There is of course another thing these politicians have in common - they're all men," Berman pointed out.
But Berman also called upon Roberts, self-appointed feminist philosopher and ABC News political analyst, to shed some light on this common thread. According to Roberts, cheating is a biological component of the male human species.
"Testosterone is a powerful hormone," Roberts explained. "And, um, and it seems to drive some men to do things that they would not rationally do if they were thinking with another part of their body."
This is the same Roberts who claimed the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be former Sen. John McCain's running mate was nothing but a ploy to win over male voters in the 2008 presidential election. Nonetheless, Berman chalked up Roberts' theory as human behavior in politics.
"As long as politicians are human, this could be politics," Berman said, as a clip from Sanford's June 24 press conference was played.
