All right. It was early in the evening, late in the afternoon, and we were bored. Rick Sanchez holds little appeal and reruns of "CSI" were repeats of repeats.
Those are amongst the excuses I have for watching the hour long interview with Idaho senator Larry Craig. I tried to read a book while the interview was broadcast, but laughs from my partner, Sonia, get my mind wandering back to the screen.
It was designed to be touching. In their living room, I suppose, Larry in causal clothing, wife in red, and holding hands.
But we have been here before, haven't we?
There has been a lot of time to explore possible answers and the rehearse those answers. We have the story as told by the police officer, with nothing to gain by fabricating, of the tapping and touching foot and the left hand palm upward motion, complete with wedding band. Then the predictable denials, familiar to anyone who has watched even one episode of "Dateline Predators". "Of course I didn't do that".
What destroys any credibility are the actions Craig took after, while still in the heat of the spotlight. Forget that weeks past after the event before he was discovered, forget that as a U.S. Senator he knows both how laws are made and followed, but which lawyers to call when need arises. To borrow from securities work, he is a "sophisticated lawbreaker", not a rube.
Remember instead the sad "resignation" speech in downtown Boise. My "intention" to resign, coupled with the misdirected but recorded telephone call to his lawyer. Those two, taken together show a duplicity that is astounding. Clearly he wanted people to think he was going to resign, encouraged that view while being nefarious and sneaky with wording that allowed an out, just as his recorded statement to the police after the incident. This guy is a pro. Worse yet, a Republican.
Yet there he sat, wife in hand, woefully commenting that his "friends" in the Senate and Romney did not call, did not say goodbye. The poor soul, abandoned by all but newly minted innocent, with full intent to clear his name by not only appealing from his admission of guilt but now appealing the decision to uphold that guilty plea. Now I ask you, how many times on each court day is a plea of guilty for such offences taken and confirmed. Would Joe Q.. Public be afforded the opportunity to recant and claim innocence. Not even "Judge Judy" would permit that sort of nonsense. You had the time to reflect, the time to call a lawyer (weeks of time, really) and talked to the prosecutor by phone. Now you wish to say all that was a mistake, one we would not allow for a normal person?
Further, the interview did disclose that this was not the first time - at least for suspicions. The "Idaho Statesman" found lots of smoke, but no fire:
"The most serious finding by the Statesman was the report by a professional man with close ties to Republican officials. The 40-year-old man reported having oral sex with Craig at Washington's Union Station, probably in 2004. The Statesman also spoke with a man who said Craig made a sexual advance toward him at the University of Idaho in 1967 and a man who said Craig "cruised" him for sex in 1994 at the REI store in Boise. The Statesman also explored dozens of allegations that proved untrue, unclear or unverifiable."
Of course, what causes the attention to stay focused is not necessarily the brazen almost resignation, but the fact that Craig has been an advocate and voted always along the lines of "family values" as espoused by the religious right. The world hypocrisy comes readily to mind. Simply put, Craig has been thirty years trying to impose his "family values" on the rest of the United States, while potentially lacking those same values in his own life. Of course, he and his wife attributed this attention to the media seeking to destroy him. Sure. Jay Leno and Anderson Cooper are out to get him, along with every other comedian and reporter in the nation.
"Wide-stance", not really a quote but attributed to Craig just the same, will be the calling card. If indeed his appeal is allowed, will that no open floodgates for traffic tickets and more from those who months after, saw the need to recant a write-in plea of guilt?
Bah! Humbug!
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