For David Brooks: A Question About That Male Republican Senator and Your Inner Thigh

Think Progress has a story regarding New York Times columnist David Brooks, who made an interesting claim about an unnamed male Republican Senator during an interview on MSNBC. Brooks said:

You know, all three of us spend a lot of time covering politicians and I don’t know about you guys, but in my view, they’re all emotional freaks of one sort or another. They’re guaranteed to invade your personal space, touch you. I sat next to a Republican senator once at dinner and he had his hand on my inner thigh the whole time. I was like, ehh, get me out of here.

Brooks also offered this interesting explanation for the Senator's conduct:

But so, a lot of them spend so much time needing people’s love and yet they are shooting upwards their whole life, they’re not that great in normal human relationships. And so, they’re like freaks, they don’t know how to, they’re lonely. They reach out. I’ve spoken to a lot of young women who are Senate staffers and they’ll have these middle age guys who are sort of in the middle of a mid-life crisis. Emotionally needy, they don’t know how to do it and sort of like these St. Bernards drooling everywhere. And you find a lot of this happens in mid-life and among very powerful people who are extremely lonely.

Interesting. So being "emotionally needy" and "extremely lonely" causes male Senators to lust after their female staffers? I am sure there are other likely explanations. Even men who lack power and who are not lonely or middle-aged like the the thrill of the chase (and, sometimes, the end result).

Question for Brooks: Why did you allow the Senator to keep his hand on your inner thigh during an entire dinner party? I suspect that most people consent to such behavior because they like it, but maybe I'm wrong.

Or maybe Brooks is emotionally needed and extremely lonely too; he is definitely middle-aged. Just thinking out loud. . . .

Anyway, here's the video footage:



Update: Ann Althouse has a similar take: "What Republican Senator had his hand on David Brooks's inner thigh through an entire dinner?"

Update 2: Glenn Reynolds -- the famous Instapundit -- has a possible answer: "I think the simple answer is that the habit of deference to power has become ingrained. . . ." Possibly. Thanks for the link, Glenn (and all of the others)!