Too dumb to know better.

I suspect Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi relishes his larger-than-life image. As a virile man. Who frequents prostitutes. Including an under-aged prostitute. Only 17. Berlusconi is 74. Anyway, a prosecutor in Italy alleges that Berlusconi has had sexual relations with at least 33 prostitutes. Berlusconi scoffs at the accusation. But I think he likes it. Likes his image. And his fame. His notoriety, really. And the fact that he’s politically able to hold on to his job. Despite everything. He merely thumbs his nose at his critics. And lives life the way he wants to live it. Because he’s powerful. And a billionaire, too. And the owner of TV networks. That helps him control his image. And the amazing thing is that Berlusconi has as many supporters as he has detractors. Many Italians like him. Maybe for being larger than life. For being a unique character. I sit on the sidelines. Amazed by it all. I see political leaders in places such as Libya and North Korea that hang on to power despite their repressive and dictatorial ways. Maybe that’s what it takes. Larger-than-life images. One wonders how Hitler and Mussolini came to power. They were daring men on the flying trapeze. They gambled their lives. And their country’s lives. They snookered supposedly intelligent people. Maybe because we are all too dumb to know better. –Jim Broede