The fact remains that if a married politician has an affair, it's really none of the public's business. Most journalists don't want to touch stories about married pols gone astray. That's why I didn't write about Gennifer Flowers for The San Francisco Chronicle once during the 1992 election and was initially highly skeptical of Paula Jones. Only when the stories were overwhelming and Clinton's behavior reckless did I focus on the "bimbo eruptions."
By then, the press was examining Clinton's private life, because he wasn't private. Some men don't know how to have a discreet affair. It seems it wasn't really sex for Clinton unless state troopers or other men knew what was happening behind closed doors. Et tu, Arnold?
Maybe it's not fair -- indiscreet at 29 doesn't mean indiscreet at 50-something. Still, I'd like to hear one of two things from Schwarzenegger, both of which will send the message that he won't embarrass California:
Either he can tell Californians that he has grown up and is a true husband, and he'll remain so while he is governor of California. He could graduate from bragging about women to a men's magazine to bragging about a woman to the entire state.
Or he could tell Californians that his personal life is personal, and he'll keep it that way. If he does something that he doesn't want to see in the newspapers, he'll be discreet. And he'll stay away from the help.
I'm not asking for a confession, just proof that the actor knows what it means to be an adult.