Antonio Threesome

As promised, we had our three different takes on L'Affaire Antonio in Sunday's Viewpoint. First, Mariel observed that it's not easy being one of the women in the mayor's life:

It's really not fair considering all that political spouses such as Corina give up. They often trade in promising careers (think Maria Shriver) for lives in which they rarely see their elected other halves - except for the occasions on which they are trotted out for photo-ops to project an image of stability and family values. Meanwhile, they are hidden away as much as possible so as not to engage in any potentially embarrassing behavior. You might not hear from them again until they are tossed aside for some doe-eyed political groupie.

In this case, however, even the doe-eyed political groupie is getting a raw deal.

Then Earl asked some hard questions about the ethics of Mistress Mirthala's journalism:

Now there are questions: Did Salinas and the station make a comprehensive assessment of the pros and cons of the mayor's (LAUSD) takeover ploy?

This was a stormy public policy issue that impacted one of the most crucial aspects of L.A. life, namely the present and future shape of public education. This, as other vital policy issues, demands the most rigorous, unbiased scrutiny by the media. If that isn't done, then reporters simply become shills for politicians.

And, finally, I took note of how the mayor's troubled home life seems to stem from a troubled childhood -- and extends to his leadership of the city:

The statistics speak for themselves. Children of divorce are themselves more likely to divorce. Boys and girls who grow up without dads at home are considerably more likely to have teen pregnancies. ...

Fatherless children are twice as likely as the rest of the population to drop out of school. Yet in his crusade to reform public education - in large part because the Los Angeles Unified School District's dropout rate is so high - Villaraigosa has uttered nary a peep about familial breakdown.

On the other issue that dominates his political agenda - street gangs - he has also been largely silent about what's likely the single greatest causal factor.

Read 'em all, and post your comments ...