On this day of fatherhood, let us look to the proclaimers of the family, the protectors of tradition, the beacons of morality . . . Nope, can’t even pretend to go there. Perhaps illustrations of dads with no common sense and tales of dads with egos overriding common sense.
Senator Strom Thurmond, the noted segregationist, fathered a child, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, with a 15-year-old African American who was employed by the Thurmond family.
Senator John Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign ended when it was discovered he had an ongoing extramarital affair that occurred while his wife was being treated for terminal cancer and which produced a son.
On May 9, 2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger separated after 25 years of marriage. Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, fathered a son more than fourteen years earlier with an employee in their household.
In 2008, Representative Vito Fossella was arrested for drunk driving. Under questioning, the married Congressman and father of three admitted to an ongoing affair that produced a daughter.
In the 1970’s, Representative Robert L. Leggett fathered two illegitimate children by a Congressional secretary while he had an additional affair with the aide to the speaker of the house.
Representative John Schmitz was, at one time, the leader of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society before being expelled for his extremist views. In 1982 he admitted to having a second family, but refused to accept or support his two children who became wards of the state.
I would venture to guess, that if we did a Politically-Donated DNA search of the population at large, there would be a disproportionately large representation of Congressional genetics.