Mrs. Mahoney hits the road

In past political scandals involving sexual peccadilloes, the elected official usually hauls the wife on stage with him for the inevitable tearful apology.  Eliot Spitzer and Jim McGreevy, among others, therefore managed to humiliate their wives even more by using them as human shields from the press.  Terry Mahoney has decided not to play that game again in Florida for her philandering “Faith and Family” husband Tim:

Six days after sitting silently at Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney’s side as he acknowledged causing ”pain” in their marriage, Terry Mahoney filed for divorce Monday.

She filed a petition in Palm Beach County Court seeking the dissolution of their 23-year marriage, possession of their Palm Beach Gardens home and ”a full accounting of all funds spent or dissipated by the husband within the last two years” — the period since Mahoney was elected to Congress on a ”faith, family and personal responsibility” platform in the aftermath of the Mark Foley sex scandal. …

The next day, Mahoney and his wife made a two-minute appearance before reporters. The congressman did not directly address the affair, but acknowledged causing ”pain,” declared it a ”private matter” and vowed to press on with his reelection bid.

Three days after that, Mahoney gave a series of interviews in which he acknowledged ”multiple affairs.” Asked to define what ”multiple” meant, Mahoney would say only, “More than one.”

Mahoney admitted he had an affair with a high-ranking Martin County government official whom he met last year when she and other county officials sought his help in obtaining a $3.4 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Infidelity occurs in marriages, and it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the relationship.  Most of us would hope that the couple could repair the damage, especially when children are involved.  However, when the philanderer uses the betrayed spouse for political cover, that speaks volumes about the values that politician holds — and “faith and family” aren’t high up on that list.

Mrs. Mahoney was willing to serve that role with her husband until it became clear that he had betrayed her on multiple occasions and made a fool out of her by hauling her into the public eye while still lying about his activities.  She’s had enough, and no one can blame her.  Tim Mahoney should be ashamed, if he was capable of shame at all.

Perhaps those politicians who have to answer for their infidelity in the future can stand on their own and stop hiding behind the skirts of their victimized spouses. For a perfect encapsulation of this dynamic, here’s a South Park clip:

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