Friday, October 26, 2007

Craig?s pout


For a man who wanted his humiliating Minneapolis sex sting arrest to "go away," U.S. Sen. Larry Craig has done his best to keep alive the episode that's angered Republican colleagues, provided giggle material for TV comedians and added new phrases to the American lexicon.

Craig's "intent to resign" turned out to be doublespeak. He hasn't.

Then he explained away his foot tapping in a bathroom stall not as a come-on code for sex with another male, but because he has a "wide stance."

Now comes the "Craig pout"—his refusal to speak to The Idaho Statesman newspaper, which had investigated years-long rumors about Craig.

Idahoans have two choices to explain this new behavior. Craig either can't answer questions Statesman reporters want to pose, or he intends to "punish" the newspaper by talking to anyone but their reporters.

Either way, Sen. Craig reveals a childish pettiness in his character and confirms the urgency for him to resign.

Of course, the Statesman doesn't rely alone on Sen. Craig for information about his work in the Senate. Much of his activity is very public.

However, each time the Statesman reports on Craig's work, it will be obliged to include in stories a phrase such as, "Sen. Craig declines to talk to Statesman reporters."

In so doing, he effectively cuts off the main channel to constituents through Idaho's most widely circulated newspaper, and inferentially suggests he doesn't care about being accountable to them.

But, hey, that's been the case since this seedy saga began. It's all about Larry Craig, not about serving the state.




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