Where Do They Find Them?

This may sound like old news, but it isn’t. Once again a Republican conservative champion of family values and a strong opponent of same-sex marriage is mired in behavior that is contrary to his public posture. Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has pleaded guilty to soliciting homosexual sex in a restroom in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. This has brought into publication reports of similar incidents, including one of having sex in Union Station in Washington, DC. Craig’s claim that nothing happened, but that the Idaho Statesman made him so nervous he accidentally pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, was not exactly convincing. Just like the Bush administration, what they say has nothing to do with what they do. “Values” are for the rest of us; not something that Republican leaders need to follow. It is not that Democrats are the most moral people in the country; but at least they don’t trumpet their moral superiority as a prime means of getting elected.

Dana Milbank in the August 29, 2007 Washington Post had an excellent summary of some of the salient items in this story:

According to the arrest report, Craig tapped his foot in a "signal often used by persons communicating a desire to engage in sexual conduct." He then explained to the police that his foot touched the undercover officer's foot in the next stall because he has "a wide stance when going to the bathroom." This was followed closely by his handing the arresting officer his business card and asking, "What do you think about that?"

"Let me be clear: I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig said. Craig didn't get into trouble for being gay; he got into trouble because he "engaged in conduct which I knew or should have known tended to arouse alarm or resentment."

Two statements appear on the guilty plea right above the signature of one Larry Edwin Craig: "I understand that the court will not accept a plea of guilty from anyone who claims to be innocent," and "I now make no claim that I am innocent of the charge to which I am entering a plea of guilty." Of course he has now hired counsel and is going to attempt to refute his own admission of guilt.

Twice in his statement, Craig, speaking beneath sunny skies, apologized for the "cloud over Idaho" caused by his arrest. Actually, the cloud is over Craig, not his home state. But it's easy to see how Craig might overestimate the size of his shadow: He has a wide stance.

Turning Points

Speaking before The American Legion yesterday, President Bush optimistically assessed where we are today in Iraq. At least he didn't term it a turning point:

There are unmistakable signs that our strategy is achieving the objectives we set out. The momentum is now on our side.

I’m sure there are still some Bush die hards who give credence to his every word, but just to keep things in context, here are some prior Bush quotes as published today in the Washington Post:

We're helping Iraqis take responsibility for their own security. We're continuing to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure, and we're helping Iraq move to free elections. A turning point will come two weeks from today. On June the 30th, governing authority will be transferred to a fully sovereign interim government, the Coalition Provisional Authority will cease to exist, and an American Embassy will open in Baghdad. -- June 16, 2004

Tomorrow the world will witness a turning point in the history of Iraq, a milestone in the advance of freedom and a crucial advance in the war on terror. The Iraqi people will make their way to polling centers across their nation." -- January 2005

There's still a lot of difficult work to be done in Iraq, but thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, the year 2005 will be recorded as a turning point in the history of Iraq, the history of the Middle East and the history of freedom. --December 2005

A new Iraqi government represents a strategic opportunity for America -- and the whole world, for that matter. This nation of ours and our coalition partners are going to work with the new leadership to strengthen our mutual efforts to achieve success, a victory in this war on terror . . . we believe this is a turning point for the Iraqi citizens, and it's a new chapter in our partnership. -- May 1, 2006

The progress we've made has been hard-fought, and it's been incremental. There have been setbacks and missteps -- like Abu Ghraib -- that were felt immediately and have been difficult to overcome. Yet we have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror. -- May 22, 2006

Quitting

Karl Rove is leaving. As close as he is to the President it is surprising that he is leaving before the end of the term. It looks like the rats are deserting the sinking ship. Rove deserves “credit” for electing a non-entity like George Bush in two elections, but should be condemned for eternity for foisting the pander-to-the-base policy, which exacerbated an already partisan political divide. Following 9/11, the Administration could have appealed to a united country and lived up to the campaign claims of ‘compassionate conservatism’ and “I’m a uniter, not a divider.” Instead they chose to aim for a 50.1% electoral majority so that they didn’t have to compromise and could follow the right wing base. They thought they could establish a Republican reign and found that independents, not just Democrats, would not accept that strategy. The Rove legacy: a failed policy.

Dick Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire