What were they thinking?

Truth to tell, it appears they weren’t thinking at all, these powerful guys who got caught up in career-destroying sex scandals. And we are left to wonder just what it would have taken to, say, pause for a moment and give a thought to consequences.
You have to wonder.

And it’s not just sex scandals; sometimes it’s money, as in the downfall of Duke Cunningham, whose lust for the high life was so great that he allowed a lobbyist to buy his favors in Congress with a mansion and a yacht.

Now, I honestly don’t believe anyone runs for public office thinking, “All I need is to get elected and then I can dip into the public coffer, or maybe sell my votes to a lobbyist, and I’ll be set for life!”

No, but it kind of confirms the old saw that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

A better saw to remember might be “honesty is the fear of getting caught.” If all else fails.

Power is seductive, and it messes with your mind.

Back in the day, a young assemblyman we helped win his first term in the California State Legislature came to a party we threw for him back home, shortly after he was sworn in. He was fairly glowing, and quite exhilarated as he described his first week in Sacramento.

“You wouldn’t believe the perks!” he exclaimed. “It’s just unbelievable, what they give you to work with.” He exuded confidence and energy as he talked about the unexpectedly comfortable new life ahead of him. It had never occurred to him as he sought to accomplish great things for his constituency that there would be fringe benefits to go along with it all.

As it turns out, this particular young man went on to a lifetime of political successes over the years without ever succumbing to the lure of money or becoming corrupt. But I offer this anecdote to show how I suspect it does happen to some.

So when it’s about money — wealth — I kind of get it. Given a taste of what it means to have money, it must be natural to want more of it, or at least to try to make sure that when your current source dries up you are going to be able to maintain the lifestyle to which you’ve become accustomed.

Some people invest wisely and plan well. Here and there, however, there are some who succumb to the temptation of kickbacks, bribery, payoffs and even building campaign war chests far in excess of future need that they get to take home when they retire. (Along with lifetime medical coverage, of course.)

So, I get money.

And these folks go to great lengths to hide what they’re doing, to bury the facts as deep as they can, often successfully for a good long while, until we are shocked, SHOCKED, when they are finally undone.

But now we have the misfortunes of Eliot Spitzer, outbound Governor of the great state of New York, to make us consider, once again, the matter of sex.

What is it with these guys?

Public servants who pilfer at least make an effort to conceal what they are doing; public servants who get caught in sex scandals seem oblivious to the danger of discovery. And of course they get found out.

I don’t agree with the pop-psychology suggestion that underneath it all they really wanted to be found out. A case could be made that anyone who runs for high public office is ipso facto a risk-taker, but taking risk does not preclude thinking about it first.

Do they really think they won’t be found out? Is it that they think they are invincible, powerful enough to withstand any consequences?

Maybe there is something about power that breeds hubris — “excessive pride or defiance of the gods, leading to downfall.”

I’m inclined to think there’s an element of mid-life crisis — after all, Eliot Spitzer, Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, David Vitter, Mark Foley, JFK and FDR were every one of them of that certain age when they turned foolish.

At which point it’s just, as Bill Clinton explained, because they could.