Monday, January 19, 2009

The Way of the World

It seems I was unfortunately a bit rash in applauding the fact that Portland, Oregon is the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor. Sam Adams has been in office for just 19 days, and now he's been hit with a sex scandal: he lied about having an affair with a former intern, and Willamette Week has just found out the truth.

This article affords several jumping-off points for discussion, but I can't help latching onto the fact that the name of the intern in question is Beau Breedlove.

Seriously, doesn't that sound like something out of a Restoration comedy--those plays where all characters have names that match their temperaments? Lady Sneerwell, Sir Fopling Flutter, Mrs. Squeamish, Beau Breedlove.

I actually think it could be very amusing to adapt the story of a contemporary political sex scandal in the style of a Restoration comedy. With this one, you could even title it Beau's Stratagem.

Addendum 1/22/09: This has hit the national news now, accompanied by many jokes that "Beau Breedlove" is a total porn-star name. So, when other people think "porn," I think "Restoration Comedy." I don't know what this says about me...

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