What was the deal? A federal investigation into an escort service run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, a/k/a the "D.C. Madam," turned up the phone number of U.S. Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana pol who built his career on moral issues, family values, and the sanctity of marriage. Uh-oh. When the news broke, husband and father Vitter released a statement admitting calling Palfrey's service prior to his election to the Senate in 2004 and while serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. Following this admission, Vitter went into seclusion for a week during which subsequent media reports linked the senator to a prostitution case in New Orleans. The fresh charges and Vitter's hiding intensified the media scrutiny until, finally, the senator, along with his wife Wendy, called a press briefing in Metairie, Lousiana.
What did he say? A transcript of the Vitters' statements, delivered five years ago today, can be found here and the video here.
How did he do? There's both good and bad in David Vitter's relatively brief statement. He gets to an apology (mortification) quickly enough: "I want to, again, offer my deep, sincere apologies to all those I have let down and disappointed with these actions from my past. I am completely responsible. And I am so very, very sorry." The senator also explicitly denies the New Orleans allegations. The most sophisticated strategy in Vitter's speech is to emphasize the framing of his misconduct as a private matter from a distant past and, therefore, not warranting public concern in 2007. He often reminds the audience of the age of his dirty deeds ("actions from my past," "no matter how long ago it was," "dealt with this personally several years ago," "my past failings"). He further stresses the private nature of his situation when he states: "Wendy and I dealt with this personally several years ago. I confronted it in confession and marriage counseling. I believe I received forgiveness from God. I know I did from Wendy, and we put it behind us." The suggestion is that, if God and his wronged wife can forgive Vitter, the public should move on as well. The senator ends with a transcendence strategy, focusing on a greater purpose which by turn makes specific misconduct appear smaller. For example, he justifies his unwillingness to offer specifics to the press by citing "a lot of important work to do for Louisiana" on water resources, hurricane and flood protection, immigration, and transportation issues. This "important work" is so important, in fact, that Vitter claims that from the press briefing he will "go immediately to the airport and to Washington for votes" (emphasis added).
What doesn't work is Vitter's continued stonewalling and press criticism (attack the accuser strategy). The senator peevishly frets: "I'm not going to answer endless questions about it all over again and again and again and again." See what he did there? Vitter used "again" four times which shows he's pretty mad about all of the questions he hadn't answered yet because he was in seclusion. And his whole "no questions" = "endless questions" move makes him look pretty unreasonable.
The most fascinating part of this apologia effort is when Vitter steps away and his wife, Wendy, takes the podium and pretty much shows up her husband. She does a better job executing both the "private life" and attack the media strategies. Speaking "as a mother," she chides the press for being "camped at our church--at our home, and at our church every day." Hard not to sympathize at least a little bit. Then Wendy goes on about how the couple dealt with this years ago, her forgiveness and love of her "best friend," and the increasing strength of their marriage. Then, for good measure, she declares, "I'm proud to be Wendy Vitter." Whether there were other feelings seething inside which contradicted her words, Wendy's show of support hit all the right notes and may have made it easier for the couple to escape the briefing without answering any questions while also encouraging the public to move on as well (similar to Hillary Clinton's support of her husband during the Lewinsky scandal).
Final Call? Speedbump. Although Vitter got plenty of grief in the short term for his skeevy misdeeds and hypocritical posturing, he has endured. Louisiana voters reelected him in 2010, and his marriage to Wendy is intact to this day. Granted, the Pelican State historically boasts a high tolerance for roguish behavior in its elected officials. Also, the Vitter scandal occasionally resurfaces in media coverage when public officials get caught consorting with courtesans, such as the recent Secret Service prostitution case, so this incident most likely will stand as the senator's most lasting political legacy. However, Vitter remains an outspoken national lawmaker to this day. And he should probably thank Wendy for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment