Mr. Terminator Gets Terminated For Muscling In on Marriage Vows

If upholding the Constitute is as easily dismissed as the marriage vows, we are in deep trouble.

A youthful Ah-nuld balancing his legacy as a young man.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Artful Arnold Schwarznegger has become the Golden Boy from the Golden State who laid the Golden Egg, and wound up getting "egg on his face" for following his glorious gametes way over the top.

After 14 years of pregnant pauses, he finally came clean and admitted an in-house liaison that resulted in begetting a 14-year-old out-of-wedlock child that goes beyond ethical bounds and political propriety. The naked truth is that he cavorted with a long-time household staffer as an undisclosed drama during his action-packed movie career. This is no x-rated fictional Hollywood script but, stripped to its bare bones, a cautionary tale of overt infidelity done under the very nose of his loyal spouse, Maria, a one-time TV correspondent who unwittingly is now dragged into the news herself.

Thus, Mr. Schwarznegger and his muscles fall flat. He can no longer beat his macho chest as a paragon of parenthood. He is terminated for the duration.

Infidelity is evidently a bipartisan activity with ample scandal potential to taint both Republicans and Democrats. Illicit affairs of recent note run the gamut from GOP Governor Mark Sanford in SC to his Dem counterpart, Gov. Elliot Spitzer of New York who was at the beckon call of a high-priced call girl. Presidential aspirant Newt Gingrich proved that he was not only a Speaker but a sneaky one at that for his philandering flings betwixt and between House committee meetings. Just this very month, now ex-Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada) walked the plank after admitting to having illicit sex and being cast overboard in this sensual tsunami.

Not to mention that former Presidents Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower were each alleged to pursue the "cheat" sheet without invoking executive privilege along the way.

What does all this say about the ethical standards practiced by our so-called leaders? How can we truly believe the hollow words of those politicians who would condescend to lie within their own families and betray their mates? Does this augur well for those priming themselves for the Statehouse or the Senate or the venerated Oval Office itself? And yet these self-anointed icons elect to emasculate their political foes verbally if not physically.

If upholding the Constitute is as easily dismissed as the marriage vows, we are in deep trouble. As the ribald Arnold saga unfolds, let us ponder long and hard at the message being sent: That we talk from both sides of our mouth, and morality is a mirage to many, fast fading to oblivion.

NOTE: The writer is a longtime crusader for male sexual accountability for their actions, and an opponent of infidelity in all its forms. He has been loyal to his wife Carmela throughout their 30-year marriage while serving as a family therapist and freelance writer.

Salem-News.com Community Writer Barry Lee Coyne brings to our readers stories from his combined career of journalism and gerontology, and explains that these paths shaped his values. Lee Coyne once worked for The Civil Service Leader in NY State and covered the Legislature. He has also done features on mediation and arbitration, and believes in healthy skepticism. This writer-therapist often views the world as the masks of comedy and tragedy placed upon the scales of justice. For him, optimism inevitably wins. "Lyrical Lee" has traveled to 30 nations aboard and was once a press intern at the UN. His first published article was in The NY Daily News in '59, dealing with the need for integrity in public office.

He also launched the nation's first tele-conference on health education for shut-ins, created the Eldermentors project in VA to pair retirees with immigrant students needing role models, and was the main catalyst behind CCTV's "Public Public" panel show here in Salem. Lee received his BA in International Relations and an MSW in community organization. He currently serves as a member of Salem's Library Advisory Board. To send Lee an email, please write to this address: luckycoyne@yahoo.com