This is a perfect example of why politicians' sex scandals matter
Dominique Strauss-Kahn is in hot water again — and this time it has nothing to do with sex
Remember Dominique Strauss-Kahn?
This time, the former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund isn't in trouble with the law for alleged sexual assault or prostitution, but for financial fraud. Strauss-Kahn was the chairman of an investment fund named LSK (the SK in LSK stands for Strauss-Kahn) that went bankrupt last year and can't seem to be able to account for what it did with client funds. It seems that Strauss-Kahn's disregard for other people's dignity goes beyond the bedroom.
Which brings to mind the notion sometimes peddled by pundits whenever a political sex scandal erupts that we should all really just grow up and disregard our elected leaders' sexual foibles, so long as they get the job done. It's a reaction that arises naturally out of the prevailing worldview, which neatly separates body from mind and says only the latter is who we really are.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But do sexual desires really tell us nothing about a person? If Strauss-Kahn wanted to make money after his IMF flameout, he could have gotten some do-nothing job "advising" a hedge fund. But, it seems, the idea was to reinvent himself as a world-bestriding financier and so he started his own fund. It's hard not to see how megalomania and a violent, voracious sexual appetite could come from the same dark, dark, troubled place.
This isn't just true of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Take two politicians whom, in the 1990s, millions of people entrusted with the power to eradicate humanity at the push of a button — former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former French President Jacques Chirac. Both men had distant fathers and loving mothers. Both men had off-the-charts interpersonal charisma and intellects combined with a deep insecurity and a concomitant desire for validation. Both men married for interest and then threw themselves into pursuits where they could receive the validation they craved: electoral politics and womanizing. Both men ended up at the top of the heap in the 1990s. Lacking spine or real beliefs, both men ended up governing from an ever-shifting center, breaking every trust, frustrating allies and enemies alike, and outlasting them through sheer tactical smarts, but leaving no discernible legacy.
We could have seen it coming; Indeed, we should have.
(The title of the greatest biography of Chirac is The Man Who Did Not Like Himself.)
Take it from the Bible or take it from Freud, the personal is the political and vice versa. Our sexuality is a messed-up tangle because we are a messed-up tangle. It's not at all crazy to think that someone who is a sexual predator is a predator in other ways. It's not at all crazy to think that someone who has sexual issues has issues, period. In fact, it's the opposite of crazy.
As a Christian, I applaud the instinct that recoils from moralizing and extends mercy to those who act out of their own brokenness, for aren't we all broken? But while I don't want to be the one who decides Dominique Strauss-Kahn's ultimate reward or worth, I still don't have to vote for him to run my country.
That's not puritanism. It's human wisdom.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.
-
The history of Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories
The Explainer How the 2024 Republican nominee has consistently stoked baseless fears of a stolen election
By David Faris Published
-
Two ancient cities have been discovered along the Silk Road
Under the radar The discovery changed what was known about the old trade route
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published