Mark Steyn (audio) replies to Hugh Hewitt (and, indirectly, Alec Baldwin):
No, I’m not. I think in a sense this isn’t – I’m depressed by what I call the naive cynics. What I mean by that is people who think they are worldly and sophisticated and are just in fact patsies and rubes, the sort of people who say oh well everybody does it. This is just a purely private sexual matter—you uptight squares need to grow up about this stuff.
No, actually. That’s not the way it works. Sexual corruption in a political culture is usually the tip of a much broader culture of corruption. France is a very good example of that by the way, and I think it’s particularly – I think it’s not good enough for Anthony Weiner to say well look none of these girls were 17 and three-quarters. They were at least 3 days past their 18th birthday. I don’t think that’s what it is about.
This guy was in line to become the next mayor of New York up until last Sunday or whenever it was. Elliott Spitzer actually made it to Governor of New York. John Edwards was in line to become Vice President of the United States. Dominick Strauss-Kahn was in line to be President of France. There is something wrong with the political culture and big government in particular is very attractive to otherwise untalented people who get to afford themselves parts to which they would otherwise be unentitled.
