Fallout From Affair

No place does sanctimonious better than the Bay Area. Don't get me wrong - I love the place. But it takes a special type of talent to kick a man while appearing to be the more enlightened person. The San Francisco Chronicle (which devoted four full inside pages to the affair) rounded up some comments from politicos about S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom's affair with the wife of his campaign manager. Let's keep these locked up for future use:

• "It's tragic to observe a person of great stature fall because of hubris. I hope the mayor gains a sudden and transformative understanding of himself. San Francisco deserves the highest quality of leadership. My sincere wish is that San Francisco will be governed accordingly." - Aaron Peskin, President of Board of Supervisors.
• "There was no one more loyal for Gavin Newsom than Alex Tourk. It terms of political implications, this is what really hurts Newsom: the loss of his most loyal supporter raises questions of trust for anyone in the Newsom operation." - Chris Daly, Supervisor.
• "He has some personal issues to address and I hope it's not going to be on the backs of San Francisco residents." - Ed Jew, Supervisor.

Of course, when non-politicians were asked their opinion of Newsom's affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk (pictured) they had few problems. "He would have to fall farther than that for me to turn on him now," said one Sunnyvale man. "The mayor is hot! Who wouldn't want to sleep with him?" said a South of Market man. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who called the affair wrong, nevertheless didn't get on her high horse either: "I understand the pressures for men of divorce, and they're awful. I've been through it. I know."

(Photos: Jeff Chiu / AP; Drew Altizer / AP)