Yes, that's right. Sen. David Vitter's wife once compared herself to the woman who became famous by cutting off her husband's penis.
It was in a 2000 interview with the Newhouse News Service in which she was asked how she would react if she were in Hillary Clinton's shoes and her husband screwed around on her.
In 2000, Vitter was included in a Newhouse News Service story about the strain of congressional careers on families.
His wife, Wendy, was asked by the Newhouse reporter: If her husband were as unfaithful as Livingston or former President Bill Clinton, would she be as forgiving as Hillary Rodham Clinton?
"I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary," Wendy Vitter told Newhouse News. "If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me."
"I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage," she added. "Don’t put fear down."
Ouch.
Now, I'm sure Wendy Vitter wasn't serious that she would actually castrate her husband if she caught him messing around. She was probably just trying to say something funny.
But Louisiana is a funny place, especially when it comes to politics. And I have no doubt this "Lorena Bobbitt" comment will make the rounds and get a lot of play.
And, in a way, it might even work to Vitter's political advantage.
Louisiana likes its politicians flamboyant and rough around the edges. Former Gov. Edwin Edwards was fairly recent proof of that. He once famously remarked how the only way he would be brought down was if he were caught with a live boy or a dead girl. He once made suggestive comments to a nun and once put kethcup in his palms and pretended to be crucified.
Louisiana is the only place I know of where a politician can get away with something like that.
So don't assume that Vitter is toast. Hell, he might start thinking about running for governor now.