Kerre Woodham: No moral high ground here

There you are, you see? Weren't we all saying that if the politicians carried on with their appalling behaviour, it would all end in tears? And we were right.

Snide personal remarks across the floor prompted speculation about Don Brash's personal life which has resulted in the revelation that he is having marital problems and debate as to whether or not he should remain the leader of the National Party.

Just as well the House is on a three-week break. It'll give them all time to reflect on their actions and ask themselves whether they want the white heat of speculation and innuendo turned on their own lives. I rather think not. Very few of us could withstand that sort of scrutiny. I may be a pillar of the community now, but I haven't always been. Whether I was a free-spirited party girl with an unrivalled insouciance or a hard-drinking, self-obsessed slapper rather depends on whether and where we've met, but the point is I am certainly not going to be leading the righteous and the virtuous in condemning the actions of any man. Or woman.

I know there are some people whose moral compasses point due north at all times. And good on them. A member of my family left a business partnership when his mate boasted of an affair, his reason being that if the man was going to cheat on the mother of his children, what was to stop the man cheating on him? And there are some older women who've rung talkback whose disapproval is genuine - they believe that if a man is dishonest in his marriage then he'll be dishonest in business.

But really. There are very few politicians who can claim the moral high ground and for the most part, it doesn't matter. Bill Clinton, that wily old dog who proved so hard to keep on the porch, is still much admired for the job he did as President of the United States, even if he wasn't first pick as Husband of the Year.

I really, truly don't care what people do in their personal lives and behind closed doors so long as it doesn't affect their ability to do the job and neither do most New Zealanders. Some of you may be old enough to remember when Truth outed Waipa MP Marilyn Waring. The National MP was a) young, and b) a woman in a predominantly rural conservative seat, and when Truth splashed the story about her sexuality across the front page, the honest burghers of the Waikato were outraged. Not that she was gay. But that Truth had been so crass as to report the fact.

We don't like being forced to peer into the bedroom windows of our politicians, and nor should we. The only reason I'm even remotely interested in the marital affairs of Dr Brash is in finding out who was behind the leaks to the media.

If it was dissatisfied turncoats within his own party, then I'm interested. Brian Connell denies it was him and indeed, there is no proof that he was the man responsible. He does look more like a Fabian poet than a member of a conservative political party, which rather sets him apart from his peers, but he says it wasn't him and in the absence of evidence, he must be believed.

The former president of the National Party, Michelle Boag, sees Helen Clark's hand in all of this and if we're to be honest, National's own goal couldn't have come at a more convenient time for a government under siege. However, Helen Clark has called for restraint in the House and even hinted at Tasering Trevor Mallard if he gets out of line so again, in the absence of any proof, she must be believed.

It's all most unpleasant and one of the reasons why it's so hard to attract people to politics. It's also easy to see why politicians' marriages are put under such strain. Beset by enemies from the opposite side of the House, suspicious of enemies from within your own party, trying to get to the top, or trying to stay on top, of your caucus, despised by the people you're supposed to be serving who consider you an overpaid freeloading burden on the taxpayer, isolated from your family - is it any wonder a politician turns to the nearest fragrant bosom or strong arms in which to shelter?