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Elmer Smith: Trend: Barry, a power pol, jeopardized by booty calls
ADD FORMER D.C. mayor Marion Barry's name to the growing list of powerful men who have been plagued by woman woes.
To be precise, this is just an update of Barry's previous entry on a rapidly expanding list of high-profile philanderers. The former mayor made the list a few years back when the FBI imported a former girlfriend who got him to violate his marriage vows and D.C.'s drug laws in one brief but spectacular crack smoking incident recorded on an FBI videotape.
That's how Barry became a member of what has become a fellowship of famous philanderers.
In the past year alone, former presidential hopeful John Edwards, U.S. Sen. John Ensign and Mark Sanford the soon to be null and void governor of South Carolina have all seen their political futures clouded by infidelity.
Barry, 73, was arrested Saturday night in Washington by U.S. Park Police when another former girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, 40, flagged down a cop and complained that Barry was stalking her.
The current status of the three-term mayor's relationship with Watts-Brighthaupt is unclear. Barry, who still serves on the D.C. City Council, seemed to believe they were still close.
But when a woman charges you with stalking her, it's clear that she views the relationship in a different light.
In a statement released Sunday, Barry said he felt "betrayed" considering the emotional and financial support he gave her. In April, he was seen paying $800 at an auction to buy her what the Washington Post described as "an opera jacket"
The stalking charge seems a wee bit suspect. They had had lunch together hours before she had him arrested. But, whether he was stalking her or just tailgating, Barry's woman woes may sink him again.
It's a trend. Sanford's multi-national booty call prompted colleagues to urge his resignation as governor. Ensign stepped down as chair of the GOP Policy Committee and Edwards may never get his hair sculpted in the Senate barber shop again.
I have no idea why so many powerful men jeapordize their futures to pursue a dalliance. I've been out of circulation longer than Confederate coins so I can't help them.
But they can help each other. I suggest a support group, a 12-step program for men who find the concept of one woman at a time too confining.
They could reach out to such famous philanderers as Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich. Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey could offer advice on non-traditional cheating and Sen. Larry Craig could show them how to keep busy even during bathroom breaks.
Barry and Clinton could be key players. Both were re-elected after cheating on their wives in incidents that dominated news cycles.
The others would sit at their feet to learn how they salvaged their careers after crashing and burning.
Barry is the ultimate redemption role model. He may be the only public official to be arrested, convicted, imprisoned and later re-elected. They'd have to get past partisan politics and a pettiness. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer struck a discordant note last week by pointing a crooked finger at Sanford's indiscretion.
"I didn't fall in love with any of them," Spitzer was overheard telling an associate named Avi Schick at a Manhattan restaurant last week.
It's an odd distinction for a man to draw after paying up to $2,000 a night per liaison. But if there theme is going to be "What's love got to do with it", they might consider Ashley-Madison.com, which bills it self as "the only certified married dating service that has been featured on Oprah."
Their trademarked motto is "Life is short. Have an affair."
The fellowship of famous philanderers could author a variation on that theme: Have an affair and shorten your political life. *
