On Roger Clemens and Political Scandals

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. ~ Proverbs 16:18

There is are common threads running through the political scandals of our time. The case of Roger Clemens v. The Truth allows us to pick out those threads cleanly.

1. Everyone is governed by the rules except me. When Clemens lied in Congressional testimony he did it with the calm ease of someone who had gotten a free pass his entire life. When Mark Foley sponsored laws to protect exploited children he was simultaneously stalking underaged Congressional pages. Foley had voted, with the rest of Congress, to exempt congressmen from many of the laws that govern the common rabble. Great athletes have been taught since childhood to use their status to avoid laws - flash their impressive names, sign a couple of autographs, and athletes have even gotten away with murder.
   
2. It's about the thrill of it all. Politics and sports are both adrenaline rushes. The high from winning a World Series can only be matched by the high of election victory. Adrenaline is addicting; without it they feel a type of withdrawal. So they take risks. Roger Clemens had his pick nightly from thousands of twenty-something groupies; he slept with a 15 year-old girl because it was more like gambling than coitus. Bill Clinton could have had sex with Monica any number of places, getting a blow job in the Oval Office was a rush that had nothing to do with sex. Some politicians I've known got an almost orgasmic thrill over playing with peoples lives - making decisions that afflict the proletariat made them feel like gods.
3. Anything to win. As Vince Lombardi said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Use banned drugs? Of course if it helps me win. Make up whoppers about dodging snipers? Why not if it makes me sound heroic. Rig an election? As long as we win the worst case is I get a pardon.
   
4. A sense of invincibility. It's a side effect of adrenaline addiction. There is an undeflatable self-confidence that has killed off their sense of caution. When Roger Clemens got in trouble he knew he could brazen through it because he is The Rocket. Isn't George Bush all about staring depression and defeat in the eye, laughing that creepy, panting, Peter Lorre snicker and brazenly declaring success. They march into disaster because they can't conceive of failure.