I'm watching Senator Larry Craig and his wife, Suzanne, being interviewed on NBC by Matt Lauer. They are seated in the living room of their beautiful Idaho home. It's all warm and soft - lots of wood. Senator Craig is in a pullover sweater, no tie, and Mrs. Craig is dressed in red. Lots of family photos spread all around the room.The thing that's bothering me about it all is how adamantly the Craigs are protesting the recent bathroom pickup incident, but how weak and desperate their lame explanations are. I'm constantly reminded of the line from Shakespeare about protesting too much. It's not working. I'm not buying it. I'm seeing way too much panic and worry about one's image and legacy - and perhaps one's way of life. The lines all sound rehearsed and planned.
This seems especially true of Mrs. Craig. She jumps into the conversation so loudly and frequently - even though she wasn't anywhere near Minneapolis when Senator Craig was arrested - that you can just see how afraid she is of her entire life crumbling down over this. It's wonderful being a Senator's wife. But where's the prestige in being the wife of a disgraced, gay-bashing right-wing conservative who turns out to enjoy anonymous gay sex? And what does that say about her as a woman? You can see it on her face and hear it in her voice. She is scared shitless!
I kind of feel sorry for Senator Craig. He's not as good a liar as his Republican cohorts in Washington. He got caught and is desperately trying not to go down in flames. It probably won't work. He's probably done. If he hadn't been such a prick over his career and been so condescending in his righteousness, then this wouldn't be such a big deal. But he certainly isn't the first two-faced politician to crash and burn, nor will he be the last.
I feel sorry for him, but I hope his days in the Senate are over.
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