Sex and Power

Anthony Wiener is just the latest in an on-going string of political sex scandals. Is the correlation between politics and infidelity real or apparent? It seems there are four main possibilities:

1) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because the power and celebrity involved in being a politician creates more opportunities. Given more opportunities, it is natural that there will be more cases.

2) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because politics self-selects for a certain personality type which is more likely to engage in such behaviors. These are people who constantly seek self-aggrandizement and pursue their goals relentlessly and these tend to make infidelity more likely.

3) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is higher than in the general population because of the nature of the job. One is working very closely with a set of associates, often on the road with them, often away from family. The close-knit and care-based relationships that politicians have with their aides and staff and the large amount of time they spend away from their spouses leads to a larger number of instances.

4) The rate of inappropriate sexual behavior for politicians is not higher than in the general population. It just seems higher because your neighbor's affair does not make national or local news and so you may or may not know of it. Politicians are celebrities of a sort and the appearance comes from the fact that it gets reported and re-reported.

So, which is it?