What are we to think of Senator John Edwards and his admitted affair with another woman dating back to December 2006?

Are we really all that surprised? Especially after the whole Governor Eliot Spitzer incident where he was found to have had sexual relations with prostitutes.

The fact is, this is just another example of a powerful man being a powerful man. And I don’t mean to generalize or disrespect all powerful men out there, because I too aspire to be a very powerful individual myself. However, there is no denying that with great power comes the fantastic ability to do whatever you want. And here you had a good looking guy in John Edwards who figured he could wet his whistle with a sexy, younger, artistic woman, and so he did it.

Men like sex…duh!

It’s just not that surprising.

But here’s what is.

As powerful and narcissistic as some of these successful men can be, they often think they can get away with anything. But to try to get away with it while running for President? That’s surprising.

Spitzer long claimed that he was the honest guy who cleaned up Wall Street and who could make New York a better place. Then he was caught having an extramarital affair. He did it because he wanted sex and he thought he could get away with it. And he thought he could get away with it, because he assumed no one would accuse him of deviating from his public persona of being a “good guy,” let alone factually prove any of his wrongdoing.

John Edwards probably thought he could get away with more or less the same thing, but John wasn’t running for New York State governor. John was running for the President of the United States of America. The highest office in the land. You see, much like Spitzer, Edwards ran a campaign fixated on being honest, cleaning up the dirty politics, and doing what’s right for his constituents. And while New York is a nice state and all, Edwards constituency was the entire United States, and in some ways, the world. And he lied to everyone…and that’s the surprising part.

Now often, I would not be one to say someone’s career should cease for personal misdeeds that really don’t have an effect on the American people. Because believe me, if we kicked every Congressperson who has had an affair out of office, we would come up real short during roll call; a sad, but genuine reality.

However, there is something different about it when a so called “good guy” is running for President and he runs a campaign based on the fact that he is the “good guy.” It is basically begging the American people to ask themselves the question, “If you will lie to your wife, then why am I to think that you won’t lie to your constituents?” Your wife is more or less one of your best friends, if not the best, and I’m nothing more than a vote and a statistic to you at the end of the day, so I have to think that you’ll tell me anything you have to in order to get my vote.

Then again, there’s Bill Clinton. If they knocked off that term limit, he could run for President today…and probably win. Yet he is a known cheater, who has reportedly had more than one extramarital affair.

So what’s the difference between him and Edwards?

Well, once again, it comes down to the fact that Edwards ran a campaign based on being this “super do-gooder,” all the while, he was cheating on his wife. Bill Clinton never made any such claim to super do-gooder status. And that’s okay. Nobody is perfect. Men cheat. So do women. Unfortunately, it’s a part of life that will probably never go away, since society has formed into a monogamous culture, when the truth is, we are probably programmed to be anything but that.

Nonetheless, at the end of the day, Edwards got caught for doing something horribly wrong, and he’ll pay for it…dearly. With his career—if not his entire personal life.

But am I surprised that he is as susceptible to cheating and deception as the next guy?

Not at all. As a powerful person, he’s probably more likely to cheat.

I’m not trying to mitigate his misdeeds, or cushion the blow, I’m just being real with you. He is a powerful man who cheated, and that’s what’s really-real. Had Edwards been real with you, he might still have a career in politics.

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