Joseph Estrada. Ramon Revilla. John F. Kennedy. Bill Clinton. These are powerful men in the political arena, who are also known for philandering.
Additionally, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner also engage in the same behavior.
The question is: should this disqualify them from running for or keeping positions in government?
Bob Filner
Bob Filner is no stranger to the Fil-Am community. When he was still a congressman, he worked hard to help Filipino World War II veterans gain full recognition and benefits, just like their American counterparts.
Now, he is the mayor of San Diego in California — a city with a considerable Filipino population (the second largest Fil-Am population of any county in the nation, according to the 2010 US Census).
However, Bob Filner is now embroiled in a sex scandal after nine women, who worked for him, came out and accused him of sexual harassment.
Calls for him to resign as San Diego mayor have been mounting, but Filner would not step down.
He admitted to treating his female staff poorly, but did not specifically admit to committing sexual harassment. Filner apologized to the women he may have offended. However, instead of heeding the call for his resignation, the embattled mayor chose to go on a “two-week intensive therapy,” to address his problem and promised to take a sexual harassment class.
“I’m not going to resign, and here’s why. As your elected mayor, I fully expect to be accountable to the citizens of San Diego for all of my actions,” Filner said in a statement.
“But as a citizen of this country, I also expect — and am entitled to — due process, and the opportunity to respond in a fair and impartial venue to specific allegations. I do not believe I am guilty of sexual harassment, and I believe a full presentation of the facts will vindicate me,” he further added.
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Spitzer graduated from Harvard Law School and worked his way up in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. He was elected New York Attorney General in 1998.
His strict ethics and persistence catapulted him to the position of New York governor in 2006.
But in 2008, it was revealed that Spitzer made frequent use of an escort service. This scandal forced him to resign from office.
Five years later, Spitzer is back. He is now running for New York City Comptroller.
He asked for forgiveness and a second chance to serve the people of New York. He urged New Yorkers to instead focus on his record as governor, and his vision and platform for the city, instead of looking at his past transgression.
Spitzer is determined not to answer any more questions about his personal life. “He’s not going to ever engage on it and that’s smart,” said a source close to the campaign. “It all just becomes noise and then he figures he [will win based] on substance.”
Anthony Weiner
Anthony Weiner is another familiar name to many Fil-Ams. I have written about his case in this column.
Weiner was previously embroiled in a “sexting scandal,” while he was a congressman. He resigned from his post and also went into therapy like Filner.
Less than two years later, Weiner is back, now running for New York City mayor. He is making the case that he is a changed man, and has been trying to position himself as the “ideas candidate” in the race, distinct from the “city elite” who “created the challenges we’re in today.”
However, his attempts to redeem himself were dampened once more. It was recently revealed that Weiner continued sending sexually charged texts and revealing images of himself via text with several other women, even after he stepped down as congressman in 2011.
When this story broke out, Weiner had a news conference, admitted to and apologized for his behavior, and even had his wife Huma Abedin stand by his side and say: “It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony. It was not an easy choice in any way, but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage.”
“We discussed all of this before he decided to run for mayor, so really what I want to say is, I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.”
Should these men bow out of politics, if they could not be faithful to their wives and be morally upright? Or should they be judged by their job performance and not by what they do in the bedroom?
If voters heed the advice of the scorned wives of these politicians (that these men still be given a chance to run for public office despite their tainted past or personal failures) then I would highlight the classic answer of former First Lady Hillary Clinton.
“I’m not sitting here like some little woman standing by her man like Tammy Wynette. I’m sitting here because I love him and I honor what he’s been through and what we’ve been through together. If that’s not enough for people, then, heck, don’t vote for him.”
Yes, indeed! There will be many who will aspire to run for public office, whether qualified and not.
The power to vote for the one who is best suited for the job lies in the hands of voters, who should conscientiously and discerningly exercise their right to suffrage.
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
