RSS Feed MenuI resisted commenting on Tiger Woods for as long as I could.
What’s hard to understand is why everyone is surprised at his extra-curricular activities. It strikes me that fooling around is more normal than an aberration for the well-connected, the rich and/or the famous.
While it strikes me that fooling around is more the normal than an aberration for the well-connected, the rich and/or the famous, there’s no escaping that virtually everyone with access to the public microphone is sounding off.
In our society, a public figure is not entitled to privacy and it’s fair game to probe into every cranny of a celebrity’s private life. A rationale for voyeurism.
As for Tiger, I’m not a golfer, so am immune to his charisma.
Friends justify curiosity by saying he’s always presented as squeaky clean, so when he proves susceptible to temptations of the flesh it’s somehow our business, too.
I don’t agree, but that’s one of the arguments.
A couple of aspects I do find interesting – especially the report that in a prenuptial agreement, if his wife divorces now, she gets something like $25 million. But if she stays in the same house with him for two more years, she’d get $60 million.
One of the ladies who works where I do – the inestimable Rosie, source of all wisdom – was scolding that Tiger was a creep, no better than other philanderers, for expecting his wife to share their house in order for her to get $60 million she deserves.
Her argument was that $60 million from the first athlete to earn over $1 billion was peanuts, and by not giving her at least that, he showed his stingy nature.
“But,” I argued. “If she can get $25 million now, why not just take it and run?”
“Why shouldn’t he do the right thing and give her $60 million? Cheapskate.”
I reminded her that as the daughter of a Swedish radio journalist, his wife would have difficulty ever spending $25 million, even with two kids. Rosie wouldn’t budge.
I think if the wife stays with him on the prospects of $35 million more after two years, she is the creep. Or at least the greedy one, in a category similar Paul McCartney’s ex-wife who thinks she’s worth more of McCartney’s wealth than anyone else thinks she’s worth.
U.S. talk-show people wallow in the story with ill-concealed lust. (An exception is comedian Dennis Miller who, as an unabashed conservative, thinks the whole escapade is none of his business and refuses to join the herd).
A report in the Toronto Sun’s sports pages even discusses five mistresses for Tiger, complete with nude photos.
Some think his endorsements may dry up in light of his indiscretions.
Nonsense. He’ll likely be more popular than ever. The only endorsements Tiger’s actions may cost him are for automobiles – especially after his confrontation with a fire hydrant, a tree and possibly his wife’s golf club. He’ll likely be a bigger attraction than before, assuming the fire hydrant, tree or golf club haven’t affected his swing.
Anyway, my bet is wifey will stick with Tiger – give him another chance. Life is too good in his wake. As for Tiger – he will stray again. They always do. Unless, of course, it is Bill Clinton, who has since become a practicing celibate.
Carney // Dec 7, 2009 at 2:27 pm
What was the point of this article?
Was the affectedly breezy and even calculatedly celebratory approach to Woods’ extensive infidelity the equivalent, as it strongly appears, of trolling for outrage among social conservatives, enabling the author to passive-aggressively feel superior to those exhibiting more emotion than he, and to smugly look down on them for their unfashionably benighted naivety?
Social conservatives are constantly told that we must not “legislate morality”. Granting, for the moment, this highly dubious premise (dubious because ALL law is of course the expression of a moral preference for one goal or outcome over another), what course is left to us other than expressing our disapproval of disgusting conduct in non-coercive ways, such as public comment, abandoning sponsors, and withholding respectability?
None, of course. And that’s just how those who lecture us like it – they push along a total collapse of all standards of personal conduct, with disastrous consequences for the family and society at large, all in the pursuit of a juvenile dream of pseudo-sophistication and a terror of being thought uncool.
Serious thinkers about the culture, the family, social structure, and mores of conduct should be better than this. This article has no place in a website purporting to be conservative of any stripe.
BarryS // Dec 7, 2009 at 3:05 pm
“None, of course. And that’s just how those who lecture us like it – they push along a total collapse of all standards of personal conduct, with disastrous consequences for the family and society at large, all in the pursuit of a juvenile dream of pseudo-sophistication and a terror of being thought uncool.”
Please be consistent and condemn in the fullest terms the following.
Dennis Vitter Senator and prostitute’s freind. Diaper wearer extraordinay.
Gov Sanford NC. Hiker to the stars. Foreign travel to his mistress a speciality.
Newt Grinrich, ace hypocrite. Give Slickwilly a tongue lashing while doing far worse himself at the same time. Serial adulterer.
John McCain. commits adultery and abandons his disabled wife.
Larry Craig, he of the “wide stance” and a homophobe to boot.
Sen Ensign, screwing around with his staff. Then does a payoff via his parents.
Dick Morris: Current advisor to Rev. Huckabee, was embroiled in a prostitute scandal in the 1990s that involved toe sucking
Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and another GOP 2008 presidential contender, betrayed his second wife, TV presenter Donna Hanover, with his “very good friend” Judith Nathan, whom he has since married. Hanover also publicly accused Rudy of having an affair with a staffer, Cristyne Lategano-Nicholas.
Rush Limbaugh, comedian, (a.k.a. “Rusty Sharpe”) dated Marta Fitzgerald while she was married to someone else. Marta later became his third wife. (He and CNN’s Daryn Kagin recently stopped dating.)
Bob Barr’s notoriety as an adulterer was one of many ironies around the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA)
Rep. Henry Hyde, who served as chairman of House Mangers in the adultery-related impeachment of President Clinton, was a home-wrecker himself. Hyde had an affair when he was a young and foolish man of 41 while he and his girlfriend were both very much married. Her husband later said Hyde broke up his family.
Gary Bauer, professional moralizing Christian nationalist, experienced a mutiny when he was running for president when actual Christians on the staff of his 2000 presidential campaign quit in protest over Bauer’s “inappropriate” behavior with a 26-year-old deputy campaign manager. Euww.
Neal Horsley, and rightwing religious nut, freely admitted to a kinky sex life, including this outrageous exchange on Fox’s Hannity & Colmes:
AC: “You had sex with animals?”
NH: “Absolutely. I was a fool. When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule.”
AC: “I’m not so sure that that is so.”
NH: “You didn’t grow up on a farm in Georgia, did you?”
AC: “Are you suggesting that everybody who grows up on a farm in Georgia has a mule as a girlfriend?”
NH: It has historically been the case. You people are so far removed from the reality… Welcome to domestic life on the farm…”
Rep. Bob Livingston, the man who would have been House Speaker after Newt if Larry Flynt hadn’t uncovered some very kinky dirt on Livingtston. He was a top contender but since he never really served as Speaker, was bumped for Bauer.
Back-bencher Rep. Don Sherwood of Pennsylvania, whose adultery with a younger woman was revealed after he tried to strangle her, didn’t make the cut, but someone please tell us he won’t be re-elected.
Rep. Jim Nussle of Iowa, who used his wife and autistic child as family values props then left them for a high-powered lobbyist after he was elected.
There are many more “Family Values ™ GOP adulterers and worse.
And before someone points out Clinton etc. Yes there are Democrat snakes, but they admit they are snakes and do not pretend to be moral examples to society.
Carney // Dec 7, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Adultery is wrong. Some of the claims you make above are disputed or lack evidence, but if true all are to be condemned.
And they have indeed had consequences. Political careers have been ended or capped on the Right over these matters.
Meanwhile it seems Anything Goes on the left – Clinton is treated as a respectable elder statesman, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd shamelessly sit in Congress in a position of power, as did Ted Kennedy.
By the way, Clinton’s conduct alone was tawdry and outrageous, and a case for impeachment on that basis was not inconceivable as the Left suggests, but he was impeached and tried based on lawbreaking. Specifically he, with full knowledge of what he was doing (as a former professor of constitutional law) committed perjury in order to obstruct a civil rights lawsuit. Paula Jones sued him because her career as a state employee stalled after she rejected his advances when he was in a supervisory position. Meanwhile Gennifer Flowers was set up with a sinecure. At the insistence of feminists, civil rights law treats employers and supervisors who make hiring and promotion decisions on the basis of whether they are serviced in such a way as violators of women’s civil rights, and the law further MANDATES (not merely authorizes) a searching investigation of the accused’s conduct to see if a pattern of similar behavior exists so as to see if it is a workplace practice. Thus, Clinton’s relationship with Lewinsky (and her being set up by Vernon Jordan with a sinecure in New York) was DIRECTLY RELEVANT to the civil rights case, and Starr had no legal option but to pursue to the nth degree whether Clinton had a pattern of rewarding or retaliating against female subordinates based on whether they yielded to his advances.
Newt was thus perfectly right in denouncing Clinton and calling for his impeachment on those grounds, despite his own infidelity opening him up to charges of hypocrisy from the ill-informed and malicious.
RioRancho // Dec 7, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Carney – can’t help but notice McCain, Vitter & Ensign shamelessly sitting in the Senate, and Sanford shamelessly sitting in the SC Statehouse, and Guiliani and Gingrich sitting shamelessly in front of every TV camera they can find.
Who was the last politician on the right who had their career ended by their inability to keep it zipped?
BarryS // Dec 7, 2009 at 4:03 pm
If you look at the above list you will see that most are either in the same office despite their failings, some are now in different positions of power. Tell me when Vitter, Ensign, Sanford, McCain resigned in disgrace?
As I said it’s the hypocrisy that is the problem. What these people do in private is actually their business and their problem. It’s when the pontificate about being moral, family values politicians and at the same time are committing adultery, that is the problem.
RioRancho // Dec 7, 2009 at 4:21 pm
A friend reminds me that almost 20% of the Republican Senate delegation has a divorce or an admission of an extra-marital affair in their past – McCain, Ensign, Vitter, Bond, Hutchinson, McConell, Barasso. So, please – no more bullcrap about sexual morality or the sanctity of marriage.
teabag // Dec 7, 2009 at 4:48 pm
It’s the hypocrisy stupid!
CentristNYer // Dec 7, 2009 at 5:01 pm
BarryS // Dec 7, 2009 at 4:03 pm
“What these people do in private is actually their business and their problem. It’s when the pontificate about being moral, family values politicians and at the same time are committing adultery, that is the problem.”
Bingo.
Kanzeon // Dec 7, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I disagree that philandering is more common among the rich than everyone else. Of course, there’s no way to prove it, but it is pretty easy to name celebrities and politicians who haven’t had affairs. There is also a difference between a marriage falling apart and infidelity being one of the events as the marriage dies (as may be the case with, for example, McCain), and juggling multiple mistresses, as Tiger did.
Bill Clinton and Tiger Woods are philanderers. Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, both George Bushes – probably not.
I would rather live in a world where celebrities have some privacy, but we haven’t had that world for fifty years. I have zero sympathy for Woods: scrutiny comes with the 1/2 billion dollar fortune. Nothing’s free.
As to his wife , we will never know the true reasons behind any decision she makes. We will never know if she is a creep (she may be), but we can all be quite certain that Tiger is.
teabag // Dec 7, 2009 at 8:47 pm
In an incident in which the perpetrator should have considered that he would become a household name on Wonkette before going through with it, former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton is facing assault charges for allegedly beating the s**t out of his mistress while having sex. His ladyfriend had not uttered the “safe word,” probably because Jetton was beating her unconscious.
Looks like it’s spreading. Of course this is ok because he is a family values Christian.
jakester // Dec 7, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Along with Palin, Anna Nichol, Paris Hilton sagas, this kind of story and the amount of press it generates fills me full of contempt for both the media exploiting it and the little people lapping up such salacious trash. I just heard John Gibson, no stranger to bottom feeding, going on about this as one of his “dem blacks are the racists in post racial America” topics tonight on the braindead radio. But isn’t Tiger only 1/4 black?
DFL // Dec 8, 2009 at 8:37 am
Although I agree with most of Mr. Worthington’s points, I do think Tiger Woods will see a decline in endorsement money, part of the reason being the state of the economy but part of it because his reputation has been exposed as strongly flawed.
MI-GOPer // Dec 8, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Mr Woods may indeed be bigger at some point –but just like Micheal Phelps is now a dope-head-4-life to thousands of parents, Mr Woods will be a slime bag to millions of REAL adults living within their vows of marriage.
Mrs Woods erred in repeatedly swinging that club at his mouth –she should have permanently damaged his loins. Hollywood values were the core truth in Mr Woods’ life and that’s the only take-away lesson worthy of his sins.