Why Americans can’t handle John Ensign’s affair

When Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinksy was exposed in public, John Ensign, the Nevada Republican, now a possible contender for the next presidential race, declared it "an embarrassing moment for the country". He also went on to say about Clinton: "He has no credibility left."

Now it is Senator Ensign's turn to bring embarrassment on himself and his party with his admission yesterday of his infidelity with a former staff member, known to be Cynthia Hampton.

Much is being made of Ensign's hypocrisy: he is a member of an evangelical church promoting fidelity, he has spoken out about the illicit sexual behaviour of other politicians, and he represents the conservative right of the Republican party that upholds the values of the family and heterosexuality as central to its political platform.

In England politicians’ affairs arouse envy: in the US they are a deal breaker

However, many politicians have weathered accusations of hypocrisy with negligible damage. What is important here is his sexual track record.

While in England, and in most of Europe, politicians' affairs generally only raise eyebrows, curiosity, and at times envy, in the US such behaviour is a deal breaker at the best of times. If a US politician is unfaithful to his wife there is an implicit assumption that this means he is unfaithful to the American public.

The Puritan heritage is certainly alive and well in the US but begs the question as to why sexual infidelity should still be such a damnable offence - so much so that it destroys politicians' careers. What springs to mind immediately is Freud's Totem and Taboo, written in 1913.

The taboo, according to Freud, has a psychological and cultural purpose in protecting the Father within the Primal Horde from attack. Following on from this, the taboo ensures that the social structure remains intact and is not reduced to a lawless