Orszag and his ex, the mother of his new daughter, released a statement perfectly capturing the sexual morality that prevails in 21st century America. "We were in a committed relationship until the spring of 2009. In November, Claire gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Although we are no longer together, we are both thrilled she is happy and healthy, and we would hope that everyone will respect her privacy." A "committed" relationship lasts only as long as both parties continue to feel committed.
If Orszag were a never-married single man dating prominent Washington women while being swooned over by a peculiar subset of women we can call policy groupies, that would be one thing. Perhaps not a very interesting thing, but there it is.
But he is divorced and the father of three. Just as a thought experiment, consider how a similarly situated woman would be covered: If a 41-year-old divorced mother of two young children were to have another child with a boyfriend and then announce her engagement to a third man, would she be considered a "hot" celebrity? The Obama administration's "unlikely sex god" (Washington Post)? Would she escape censure if she maintained no relationship with the new baby?
Observing this double standard in years past, feminists strove to have women judged by the same standards as men. They didn't succeed (even if they tell themselves they did). But isn't it odd that they never attempted the opposite? What's really needed is for men like Orszag to be judged as a woman, a mother, would be judged in identical circumstances. She would not be celebrated for jumping from bed to bed. She would be disgraced for abandoning a newborn. And so should he be. This panting admiration for a guy who behaves like a cad displays caveman morality. Oh, look how virile the skinny intellectual is! What a gorgeous gal he's squiring today!
Yes, it's understood that there are basic differences between the sexes and women are characteristically less given to abandoning their infant children than men are. But that's irrelevant to the moral argument. A sensible society will stigmatize behavior that harms children. If women find it a little easier to comply, good for them. And by the way, for all the inarguable inequalities in treatment of men and women in pre-sexual revolution days, Orszag's behavior would have been unthinkable for a respectable man.
Still should be.
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