Semi-Naked Came the Congressman

By GAIL COLLINS
NYT

I know that you have been wondering what the story of the shirtless Congressman tells us about the current state of American politics.

A lot. Definitely, a lot.

Representative Chris Lee set a record for swift resolution of a sex scandal this week. It began on Wednesday afternoon, when the Web site Gawker posted e-mail correspondence between Lee and a 34-year-old woman who went on Craigslist searching for a “financially & emotionally secure man” who did not resemble a toad.

Did that seem like too much to ask, people? Apparently. After a bit of e-flirting, the woman did a quick online search that revealed that Chris Lee, the 39-year-old divorced lobbyist who answered her ad was actually Chris Lee, a 46-year-old married member of Congress. She forwarded everything to Gawker, including a picture Lee had sent of himself standing half-naked in front of a mirror, flexing his muscles.

A few hours later, he was history. His office had barely had time to blame the whole thing on hackers before the congressman resigned and went off to do marital damage control.

(More here.)