Scandals turn politics into persecution in pursuit of perfection

I don't condone or agree with his decision, but he's no Marchant, whose earnest confession reeks of the self-service to which he has now consigned himself.

I also know Haley and take her at her word when she denies the allegations. But let's get at the deeper truth and ask: Is this really where we want our politics to go? Are only perfect people acceptable for public service? As Bill Bennett once put it to me: "If perfection is our standard, then no one gets to talk."

This obsession with people's personal lives, including the hand-wringing analyses of Al and Tipper Gore's marriage, has turned us into a nation of purse-lipped old maids. No offense to purses. I've resisted commenting on the Gores' decision to split after 40 years of marriage because what possibly could I know? Apologies to the deeply conflicted, but the Gores' divorce has no bearing whatsoever on my life.

I reluctantly decided to weigh in on the Haley story because therein lie issues of more general consequence. This isn't only politics at its worst. It's a persecution, a witch hunt, a political rape. "All I know to do is fight," said Haley by phone Friday. "Just stay strong and keep a smile on your face. . . . I refuse to let this distract me."

Of greater personal concern than what may or may not have happened between consenting, if misguided, adults is, what has happened to men? The South has managed through the past 150 years of regional shame to cling to the one admirable trait of its antebellum past: the Gentle Man.

He, too, apparently is endangered. With notable exceptions, the once-honorable protector of women's virtue is just another gossipmonger.

Perhaps this is the legacy of our egalitarian times. When men succumb to their inner Oprah, weeping and telling like slumber-party girls, it may be time for the stronger sex to lead.

kathleenparker@washpost.com