Mark said (March 27, 2014):

Please realize that smart politicians do not get into positions of authority unless they are controllable. If the guy in power is doing what his handlers and benefactors want of him, then no amount of corrupt behavior on his part will impact his time in office.

For example, Obama appears to be eminently blackmailable. I have read so many different stories about his sexual orientation, birth status, lack of college bonafides and drug use that it is a wonder that he still sits in the White House.
He must be doing his owner's bidding - and doing it well, I might add, because he appears unassailable.

Remember that Dubya was, for all intents and purposes, an arrogant retard; however, he did his masters' bidding and made it through two terms unscathed. He brought the country to the brink of ruin and Obama is completing the job.

JFK was supposed to be controlled by his father. As a matter of fact, Joe used to get rub jobs with the mobster Frank Costello in a swanky massage parlor in NYC. When Joe became ill and JFK went off the script vis-a-vis Vietnam, Cuba and the CIA... well.... the rest is history. Apparently JFK was so bad that a real lesson had to be taught; therefore, the public mind is forever ingrained with the image of JFK's head blown to bits in a Lincoln convertible.

The examples go on and on. One thing seems consistent. There are no accidents. Bad behavior does not exclude one from meritorious service. Going against the will of those who hold the reins of power is the key to career destruction.

People at entry level positions who are exhibiting bad behavior before actually getting into significant positions of power are susceptable to exposure. I think Weiner was such an example - a total horse's ass.

Spitzer may have been a borderline case. For a man who vowed to clean up Wall Street, his ouster closed the door on many investigations. However, Spitzer went to Harvard Law with Jim Cramer. And you never saw Spitzer take on the hedge funds or the naked shorting that they use to destroy listed companies.

cramerspitzerphotobooth Jim Cramer is a Complicated Man
Although he is not a politician, why is Jim Cramer still on TV?

Look at the three videos on this page:
The Extended, Uncut 'Daily Show' Jim Cramer Interview

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/03/the_extended_uncut_daily_show.html

Joyce said (March 27, 2014):

Anyone who had so much self-control and moral fortitude that he or she would not fall into this trap, would not qualify with the Illuminati for the position. Even government employees must get Background Investigations before they can be hired. A financial examination is part of the check. People who are leveraged to the hilt get hired all the time. People who are not, like me, can fail to get hired for " financial reasons."

Bill said (March 26, 2014):

Spitzer was attacked by NY Times 25 days after he criticized Bush/Administration in a letter to The Washington Post for not doing anything about predatory lending practices of banks http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html
And we all know where those practices ended up sinking homeowners, eh?

Too bad, thought Spitzer might have actually made a good president, whatever that might be worth.
While considering myself somewhat beyond polyticks at this point in my life, please notice that most of these dummies are liberal democrats.
But history shows, to me anyway, you must have significant skeletons in your closet in order to advance, eh?

Christopher said (March 26, 2014):

Only pathologically sick individuals who openly lead disgusting lives do not care for what is learned about them. Their bold-faced lying only illustrates their boldness. Both reasons self-reinforce in a cyclical process. Good people do not want their lives dissected and do not want to be surrounded by a crowd of sickos. The crowd of sickos in the profession grows and such a calling becomes even more distasteful for a normal. Russian saying, “If you are going to live with wolves, behave like a wolf.”

Len said (March 26, 2014):

Sexual addiction, lust, and vanity are temptations that are CONSTANTLY there for the so-called "Alpha Male", the rich, the powerful, and/or the charismatic personalities. Most of the egotists who give place to these traps of immorality are foolish and weak, all the time thinking, of course, that they are "strong" and "invulnerable" to the consequences.

The Bible calls them fools, ... and rightly so.

L said (March 25, 2014):

As we all know, pathological narcissists--many of whom become politicians--often have deviant sexual behavior.

I've worked in hospital administration for many years and those surgeons or medical directors who come to consider themselves God-like, often act out sexually through dangerous encounters with young female staff members.

Same when in college and I was an innocent young paralegal struggling financially--married lawyers hitting on me right and left, asking me if I'd like jewelry and a free apartment in exchange for frequent encounters. This satisfies their selfishness, gives them the ultimate sense of power--taking advantage of the most helpless and vulnerable (vulnerable women co-workers include those with self esteem issues, ie Monica Lewinsky, it has little to do with looks and everything to do with satisfying their sick pathology)

Al Thompson said (March 25, 2014):

It's not a matter of smart or stupid, but it is more of an evil temptation which cannot be resisted without a secure moral compass. I don't know anyone who has been properly taught how to resist these temptations when the arise. The only proper way of having sex is between a man and a woman under the bond of marriage; everything else is wrong and will get poor results. Fornication will always get bad results, and pedophiles will suffer untold horrors as a result of their own actions.

Instead of using smart or stupid, I would use the word stupor and that is the result of mind control and being constantly inculcated with mainstream media poppycock. Add to that bad government and bad religion, it's a miracle that anyone can even wipe themselves, let alone lead a moral and prosperous life. To engage in evil is a weakness and it is a loser's condition. It will always produce bad results and it is the stupor which produces the poor judgment.
http://verydumbgovernment.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-freedom-of-virtue.html

Linda K said (March 25, 2014):

Dear Henry - considering all of your examples are male - I immediately thought of a Greek saying told to me by my Greek husband:

The little head controls the big head.

Dan H said (March 25, 2014):

Because the question confuses intelligence with stupidity when the correct comparison would be wisdom and folly.

The behavior referenced is not 'stupid', it is foolish.

While those men may be intelligent, they are not wise and the fact that they engage in folly is due to a lack of wisdom, not a lack of intelligence.