Posted by
David C. Innes on Monday, July 06, 2009 9:40:42 AM
It is sad that it takes a woman these days to tell a man how he ought to behave. Dorothy Rabinowitz tells us "
What Sanford Should Have Said" (
Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2009).
"I
come before you in what is clearly a predicament, but without, I hope
any pretense. There's no pretense in having an affair -- affairs are
real, very compellingly so. There are lies, yes -- to one's wife and
family and staff -- but that's a different story. And while I'm on the
subject, let me say the only apology I plan to offer in public is to
the members of my staff I left in confusion about my whereabouts with
nonsense about hiking on the Appalachian Trail.
"I have no
intention of babbling about mistakes, or about problems of exhaustion
and stress that could have led to my affair -- and no intention of
standing here, like so many dolts before me, looking vacant and
miserable, as though I'd just come through some kind of punishment camp
that left me brainwashed.
"I had an affair, not an overnight
encounter -- and an affair, as you ladies and gentlemen of the media
know -- is about falling for someone in a way that makes you forget
about everything and everyone else. It's true for men, it's true for
women.
"I knew what I was doing, and, yes, I loved it, and all
its pains, too. That is an affair. It works till its over, and the
price can be high. I don't expect to allow that price to include
talking about this to the media, or answering their idiotic questions
about how my wife feels, or whether I've talked to my children, or
whether I can still imagine myself a contender for the presidency.
"Furthermore,
I've seen too many breast-beaters in my situation deliver public
apologies to their wives and children before crowds of reporters. I
have no intention of taking part in any such bizarre -- not to mention
shameless -- spectacle. A man who apologizes to his wife and children,
who holds forth tearfully about having betrayed them, for media
consumption, is, anyway, too lacking in dignity to hold public office
of any kind.
"So let's understand this. I plan to straighten my
tie, button my jacket, maybe buy a new suit, and go forward to do what
I have to do. Life's complicated, ladies and gentlemen, but there's
work to be done. I'll have nothing further on this, count on it.
"All the best."
Rabinowitz
knows what a manly response to the situation would be because, as a
woman, she knows what a woman admires in manliness.
Now that
Hillary Clinton has fired off her last round, are there any men left to
take command in America? Let's not look to Sarah Palin to save us.