Should a 'sexy' photo have ended a congressman's career?

Rep. Christopher Lee (R-NY) quit Congress hours after Gawker published a shirtless photo he sent to a woman he met on Craigslist. Is our scandal threshold really this low?

Rep. Christopher Lee, the married, New York congressman, resigned just three hours after Gawker.com posted his "sexy" Craigslist photos online.
(Image credit: Screen shot/ Gawker.com)

Rep. Christopher Lee (R-NY) resigned three hours after the website Gawker revealed what appears to be a botched attempt at an extramarital affair. Gawker's story: A 34-year-old woman posted a dating ad on Craigslist and was contacted by a "Christopher Lee" who said he was a divorced, 39-year-old lobbyist. During their brief online flirtation he sent her a "sexy" shirtless photo of himself. When she discovered he is a 46-year-old, married congressman with a kid, she sent the emails and photos to Gawker. Is this bungled Craigslist dalliance really a career-ending move? (Watch an MSNBC report about Lee's resignation)

Lee did the right thing: "Nothing good comes from a grown man doing muscle poses in front of the mirror" and capturing them on camera, says Jonathan Capehart in The Washington Post. The photo is "nothing risque," and the flirty emails are actually "rather charming," but Lee was still on Craigslist looking for a hook-up. For the sake of "his district, the House, and his family," he was right not to "let this thing drag out."

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