The Perks of Office - May 19, 2008

When Henry Kissinger was asked about his success with women, he replied, "Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac." If a Secretary of State did that well, one can only imagine what a President could do. Many U.S. presidents have tested that proposition and found it a winner. From Thomas Jefferson to Bill Clinton, chief executives have carved innumerable notches into the bedposts of the Executive Mansion. Even James Garfield, who boasted one of the shortest presidential terms, found time to philander. Now, we don't mean to imply that every president has had affairs, or that those affairs start only once a man reaches the Oval Office. Franklin Roosevelt cheated on Eleanor long before he even contracted polio, and Dwight Eisenhower's affair began when Ike was still fighting World War II. The press was said to have known about such things, but kept them covered up through a "gentleman's agreement" -- an arrangement that stayed in place at least through George H.W. Bush's alleged affair (although Mr. Clinton was obviously not granted the same courtesy). Perhaps the greatest presidential philanderers were Warren Harding (who was rumored to have fathered an illegitimate daughter while president--DNA confirmed it nearly a century later) and John Kennedy, who probably could have used a UNIVAC to keep track of who he was sleeping with next. One of the women he was most rumored to have slept with (ex post facto, of course) was Marilyn Monroe. On May 19, 1962, in a gala celebration, she cooed "Happy Birthday" to JFK in a manner than indicated a more than casual acquaintance with him. Whether the current (or the next) president joins in this tradition, we can't say -- but given the personalities of Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Cindy McCain, we'd bet against it. Suggested Sites... What If Voters Don't Care About Infdelity At All? - well, maybe it's not a thing of the past... Was Marilyn Monroe Killed Over This JFK Secret? - some claim she was bumped off for knowing too much. The Strange Death of Warren G, Harding - we're not saying Florence Harding had anything to do it, but you never know. U.S. Presidents: Lists and Records - chief executives aggregated by claims to fame and shame.