If I were watching thepublic’s disgust with the newly revealed Tiger Woods from an office inthe West Wing, I’d be concerned. Because Barack Obama is about ascompletely manufactured a political character as this nation has seen.
As a rule, therevelation that a married athlete (or actor, or rock star, orpolitician) has conducted extramarital affairs with bevy of “partygirls” may titillate, but rarely has the power to shock. In thoserealms, these things happen. Entitled men. Willing women. Deceivedwives. What’s new?
Sowhat is it about Tiger Woods that makes his cheating so different fromthe usual that ten days on, the nation is still discussing revelationsof conquests, trysts, payoffs, and physical injuries inflicted by agolf club?
Sure, there’s normalprurience at work. But mostly, we are interested because Tiger Woods,who may legitimately be the best golfer ever, had been turned into anall-purpose icon: a man of personal rectitude, a lovely smile, apparentopenness; a family man, with a lovely wife and two adorable babies.
And of course, he was ourfirst living embodiment of the collective hope for racialreconciliation. Who knew that the early reports of his betrayed wifeElin swinging at him with a golf club constituted literal icon-smashing?
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