Does being a cad affect the ability to lead?

It was all a misunderstanding. When he suggested she terminate her pregnancy, she heard “Terminator Pregnancy” and was like: Awesome.

But anyone who gave half a thought to pre-Governator allegations of Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Der Gropenfuhrer” wasn’t surprised by this week’s news that he fathered a love child with a longtime member of his household staff.

And he did as good a job of running California into the ground as his chaste and disgraced predecessor, Gray Davis.

We expect politicians to be practiced in duplicity and sleight of hand, and our tendency is to only think ill of those who get professionally sidelined by their personal shortcomings. We know of John F. Kennedy’s affairs in retrospect and they don’t tarnish our feelings about him, but I remember feeling pissed at Bill Clinton because he dragged the nation into his scandal.

I remember asking my father what was so bad about Richard Nixon.

“He got caught,” he said.

Considering all the chief executives who have cheated, it seems that only when the infidelities surface that their ability to govern is compromised. Since allegations of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s harassing ways were evident prior to the 2003 recall election when he unseated Davis, I admire him for keeping this information out of the media until he left office.

Because unless an executive is a wingnut on walkabout like former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, who could have potentially put his state in jeopardy when he left the country in 2009 to visit his Argentine mistress, these soulless, family-crushing dalliances only affect the people most vulnerable to betrayals—spouses and children—because heads of state from Franklin Roosevelt to Kennedy to Clinton were so effective in granting themselves special dispensation to misbehave.

In fact, though Clinton was a better leader, I’d say Schwarzenegger had Bill beat simply because he was able to keep his “character” issues suppressed throughout his term.

This is, of course, a very personal tragedy for all who share Schwarzenegger’s DNA, and those he shared it with. California is as broke now as it was when Arnold took office.

How does this relate to Porn Valley? Well, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had Larry Flynt or Mary Carey been Governor.

(photo by Annie Liebowitz, Vanity Fair)

Previously on Porn Valley Observed: “Jeopardy XXX” popshots the question; Porn emerges in Ca. Governor’s race – finally