"Pause Before You Play"

Power must be more than an aphrodisiac. Power must burn so brilliantly that it somehow induces blindness, as well, in the less powerful.

The photo to the left is a mug shot of Mark Souder (R-Ind.), who resigned under pressure from Congress today at the age of 59. He admits that he carried on a "mutual relationship" (I guess that means he didn't rape her?) with an attactive, young married staff member, while at the same time publicly denouncing immoral behavior and arguing that teens should be taught abstinence as the only means of birth control.

Souder and his staffer had appeared together in an "educational" video -- now on display all over the internet -- where she "interviewed" him regarding his firm stand on abstinence education.

No one's perfect, so let's forget about the hypocrisy, forget about the politics, forget about the pain to both their spouses and families, forget about the end to his Congressional career. What then does fascinate me about this whole affair? My mind boggles at what conceivable attraction his young, married protégé -- and in the video, she appears both bright and attractive --could have felt for this self-righteous, overweight, middle-aged (at best) political Bozo?

Such, it appears, is the intoxicating force field projected by even that small aura of power emanating from a minority party Congressman from Indiana.