Analysis: Why do politicians cheat?
A quote, relevant to my commentary:
"Political life — with its long hours, frequent travel and endless stream of new acquaintances — also can be a strain on even rock-solid marriages. At times, the lifestyle almost seems to invite unfaithfulness.
"There's lots of temptation," [Fred] Greenstein added." [professor emeritus of politics, Princeton]
NOW, there's also the French way of doing this. The French aren't like us Puritan-influenced Americans.
French women don't just tolerate their husbands' affairs - they expect them
Excerpt:
And, over the years, I came to see her point. French couples - the educated middle classes at least - have no trouble accommodating affairs. In fact, they regard adultery as an occupational hazard
They believe that everyone has a right to enjoy sex, with or without love. If you're lucky enough never to get bored with your partner, great. If not, there's no shame in looking for sex outside your marriage. It works in France because the French don't expect total honesty from their partners. In fact, they believe honesty can be downright destructive. In Laurent's circle, anyone who cheats on their partner would be regarded as cruel and petty for confessing to it. I suspect that, in a funny way, these discreet affairs help sustain marriages.
It can't be a coincidence that, while plenty of my English friends are divorcing, I know only one divorced couple in Laurent's circle - and the wife is American. Unlike the French, we have a very puritanical view about honesty. We see a relationship with secrets as a flawed one, and so any affair ends up mired in guilt and recrimination.
Often it's the guilt and deceit, not the sex itself, which destroys the marriage. Put bluntly, we regard affairs as sordid. The French see infidelity as natural. For many, good sex is the most satisfactory way to escape drudgery and stress.
Wine, women, probably some song too -- if this works, being French has its perks.
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