No, reasonable people must assume that Mr Davies' 'embarrassment' arose because he and his new-found friends were set to engage in activity more carnal than a mere meal. Even the right-wing papers have made their peace with that, as the cuddly profile of the Culture Secretary in yesterday's Daily Mail testifies. Ah, but Ron Davies is married, say the ethics police. There's a fidelity issue here. But, as the survival of both Cook and Clinton illustrates, adultery is no longer a capital crime in politics.
Voters seem to have accepted that life is complicated and that marriage vows can be frail.
Maybe the issue is truthfulness. As an incoming member of the Cabinet, Ron Davies would have been vetted by MI5. They would have asked if there was any past or present conduct, sexual or otherwise, that could embarass him. The Welsh grapevine was humming yesterday with murmurings that Davies was fond of late-night walks in shady places, and that this was all bound to come out sooner or later. In other words, the Welsh Secretary might not have told the vetters all they needed to know.