Is It Right?

Rep. Dan Burton (R) and his new wife, Dr. Samia E. Tawil, are the Talk of The Town according to the Star's Susan Guyett. She writes:

The congressman and his new wife tied the knot Aug. 22 in Park City, Utah, but are planning a religious service in Indianapolis in November.

It sounds like the second ceremony is for family.

"My parents are Greek Orthodox, and there's no way -- we have to have the church wedding," Tawil said.

The couple, looking very much in love, attended the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra gala Sunday night. Burton, 68, said they hadn't planned any public announcement on their marriage until the fall nuptials took place.

Tawil, an internist, cared for Burton's wife, Barbara, who died in 2002 after battling breast and colon cancer. The physician, who is 44, got to know the family and remembers Burton as a caring husband who was helpful to his wife during her illness.

Their paths didn't cross again until last year when Burton's daughter, Danielle, learned Tawil got divorced. She suggested her father give the doctor a call.

They had lunch, and the rest is history, Tawil said during a phone interview Tuesday from her medical practice in Geist. She's just getting used to life married to a public figure and is astounded how many people approach him in public with questions and requests for help.

"He's very honest, he's very loyal, and his job is number one," she said. She plans to maintain her full-time medical practice.

AI wonders just how well Tawil knows Danny Boy. She describes him as being "very honest" and "very loyal." I don't know what other people might think about this, but in my family men who cheat on their wives aren't considered honest or loyal. But that's exactly what Burton did to his first wife when he carried on an extra-marital affair with a State House secretary which produced a love child. In Burton's words: "There was a relationship many years ago from which a child was produced. I am the father. With my wife's knowledge, I have fulfilled my responsibilities as the father. In an effort to protect the privacy of those involved, it was decided years ago among all parties that this matter would remain private."

When Burton made that little disclosure in 1998, his son was 15 and he admitted that he had never met him. And that's fulfilling his responsibilities as a father? Gee, I'm glad Danny Boy isn't my father. Remember, Burton once called President Clinton a "scumbag" because of his extra-marital relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. People who live in glass houses?

Tawil explains that she met Burton while caring for his wife, who was at the time dying of breast and colon cancer, and that he decided to call her up after he learned she was getting a divorce. For someone who spends a lot of time trying to legislate morality, Burton practices a form of "Christian values" that are completely at odds with what I was taught by my parents and the church I attended growing up.