According to a recent Gallup poll, 80% of respondents said that suicide was morally wrong. 88% said that cloning humans was morally wrong. But 92% said that extramarital affairs were morally wrong, earning the act the highest disapproval rate on a list that included gambling, wearing clothing made from animal fur, abortion, divorce, having children outside of wedlock, polygamy, and other issues.
So is Gov. Mark Sanford in trouble? Do 92% of Americans condemn his affair with his Argentinean mistress? The majority of Americans may think an affair is wrong, but is it still wrong if a politician does it?
It seems like sex scandals are more politically complicated than they used to be. While 61% of American voters said in a Rasmussen poll that they trust politicians less when they find out about their bad bedroom behavior, examples of both Democrats and Republicans might lead us to believe that Sanford can make a comeback.
The same Rasmussen poll revealed that 37% of Americans believe most members of Congress have had extramarital affairs. It seems like in the political world, Americans are more apt to forgive because of an everybody’s-doing-it attitude. We’ll be watching and waiting to see how soon or how slowly Sanford can regain popularity.
