In Mary Grabar’s March 30, 2008 column at TH, “The Letter “A,” Spitzer, and the Misrepresentation of Puritanism,” she delved into the public’s reaction to the Elliott Spitzer scandal and the inevitable misplaced comparisons to Hester Prynne’s treatment at the hands of the Puritans in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

The defense of public officials like Spitzer and Bill Clinton, et al, exposes one of the many problems with the way liberals think. They seem incapable of making the distinction between branding a private citizen with the letter ‘A,’ and the reasonable expectation that the people chosen to govern us will behave with the integrity worthy of their office and, at the very least, within the confines of the law. 

No one has suggested that Spitzer or Clinton, et al, be branded, shunned or otherwise formally punished by society for their adultery (breaking the law, well that’s a separate matter). Indeed if we look at Bill Clinton today he’s not exactly hiding away in shame, is he? His ceremonious, post-Monica life belies this picture of puritanical vengeance that the Left pretends is taking place. The same will be true for Spitzer, once he gets past the legal repercussions of his actions.

The fact is, to our credit we are a nation that learns from its mistakes. We don’t brand people for adultery or burn ‘witches’ at the stake any more. But rather than acknowledge and be satisfied with this correction, the Left, in its infinite wisdom, would like to take us to the opposite extreme. Now we are told that we are bad to impose any moral standards whatsoever, even upon those whom we elect to govern us. 

No one is entitled to hold public office. Serving as president, governor or other high office is a privilege that only a tiny fraction of us will ever be honored with. Revoking that privilege merely places the individual back into the general population with the rest of us. Why this is seen as some terrible, mid-evil punishment, rather than a logical response to an official’s misconduct or poor judgment, makes no sense to any one but a liberal.