The Andrew Weiner and Bob Filner sex scandals have hardly caused a ripple in the already-churning political waters where publicity of any sort is coveted. It’s as if the voting public merely sighs and slouches on toward an inevitable inertia brought on by too many loose cannons (or pellet guns in this case), cheating leaders, and sexted close-ups of body parts presumably attached to minds we have deemed worthy of ethical leadership. We have developed immunity to tales of rape and harassment, coke cans with pubic hair, and pictures of adulterers cavorting on yachts with women half their age. While expectations for more demure sexual behavior might seem Puritan these days, young women’s role models now include “Stand By Your Man” types who don’t blink an eye at marital indiscretions as long as their power is intact and Muslim wraiths whose self esteem lies somewhere between the family milk cow and the household maid.

Filner, for his part, has attended a class on sex addiction. This will allow him to disavow his behavior in a disingenuous manner, as if he couldn’t possibly have known any better than to ask a secretary to work in her underwear, drool down the side of a colleague’s face, or slap a constituent on the ass. He has asked the good people of San Diego to pick up the legal fees for the numerous lawsuits coming his way so that he isn’t held personally accountable. Weiner continues to run for Mayor, although his “family man” ads with his tow-headed infant and adoring wife are laughable. Carlos Danger should don a superhero cape and have himself photographed with his S & M sidekick, Sydney Leathers, in a Gotham spoof which would surely boost his poll numbers.

Short of neutering candidates at the primary level, how can we ensure that voting taxpayers are represented by legislators with moral and ethical boundaries? We might have to wait for baby boomers to die off in large numbers before single candidates of any gender become electable. A growing trend among Americans is the choice to become or remain single long-term, sadly ensuring that this cohort of legislative hopefuls will remain political pariahs. While the “ewww” factor of seated legislators shaking hands with foreign leaders while texting in their pockets sets a horrific example for American youth. I am no Puritan, but when I discussed these scandals with my students, they were surprisingly forgiving. They don’t hold elected officials to a higher standard than reality, sports, or music stars.  Of course, as a public school teacher, sexting would get me fired. Maybe then, though, my state senate campaign would catch fire.