My grandfather was a senior foreign service officer (ambassador), one of his earlier generations was a Treasury secretary, and I'm a chief executive of a local municipality of about 4,300 people. I out about myself and no one cares [here in GEORGIA].

But if Craig "is" gay, that is an issue. What? A hypocritical homosexual am I? No, but because he suppressed those behaviors publicly, it ended up spinning the wayward way of God's "I told you so."

Craig was anti-gay rights, wishing that anyone [like him] could NEVER love [in private] who they [maturely] choose. I'm not gay in office, nor at family events, nor in public appearances...I'm gay at home. Outside those walls, I'm a citizen.

I'm on a soap-box for gay civil-rights, sorry. But I'm P.O.'ed with the GOP. I stopped being republican this year (officially), not because of Craig or any other specific member...but because the times are changing. Republicans are going in the direction of the Federalists.

going...GoinG...GONE!!!

I'm a Democrat – even a lefty – and I think that the case of Senator Craig offers a wonderful opportunity to draw the line between reasonable scrutiny and the yellow dog journalism that has ruined countless careers and personal lives.

Senator Craig's sexuality is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. And the crack squad of airport rent-a-cops that sought to entrap him might want to start focusing on . . . uh . . . gosh, I don't know . . . maybe . . . airport security(?).

Wait – what am I saying? PLEASE, Sen. Specter, drag this thing out in public!

From the transcript it would seem that he was promised some type of anonymity (i.e. no media coverage) and he may have decided that it would be best to get this behind him, whether or not he in fact he intended to solicit "activity" in the bathroom in question.

Specter makes a good argument and, no matter his political leanings, at least he remains fair when all of Sen. Craig's so-called friends use words like "disgusting" and "unforgiveable".

Credit to Guiliani and Fred Thompson not to engage in the mudd-slinging by their less worthy opponents.

Finally, it is America's obsession with sexuality and, particularly, its homophobic paranoia. In Europe, this would be a non-issue.

Even if Sen. Craig had sought sex, and this is by no means clear, at this point he would deserve a measure of compassion because he might be a victim of societal homophobia that would have dictated a life he may not have wanted to lead.

So far, he has not used state troopers to bring in the "girls" (or the "boys"), and it does not seem as if he engaged in any illicit conduct in his Senate office. Why is it ok to get it on in the White House and leave office with high marks and why do those with connections to the DC Madam get a standing ovation?

...unlike the Democratic party who keep re-electing their candidates who have been convicted. cant' name names here, but initials TK, BF, WJ, just to "name" a few.

Such is life. They say one thing, and in the rest room they do another..
Even Republicans!
Quote " Republicans, its not the truth anymore"

Step aside Dems, the GOP is about to continue to self-destruct and needs no assistance.

Honestly, there isn't a joke writer in Hollywood that could make stuff up this funny.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/aug/31/meet_the_new_hypocrite

For public restrooms in a large majority of the world's largest airports you need to bring your own toilet paper and a small bottle of sanitizer and sanitized swabs in your carry-on briefcase–never mind solicit sex there.

And the point about young people is in itself sufficiently persuasive.

Back in the 80s when there was another DC scandal involving sex, drugs, and Congressional pages, although no names had been named or charges filed, then-Rep. Larry Craig, for whatever warped, misguided reason, went before the cameras and stated that he is not gay....all the way back in 1982.

He had not been publicly targeted as gay. But still, he felt the need to state he was not? It sounds as though the man protests too much.

And then, within a year or so, the esteemed Mr. Craig married and Idaho widow who had three children. How conveeeeeeenient, as the Church Lady on SNL used to say.

Of course, he might NOT be gay. He may merely be bisexual! But that still does not excuse his over 25 years of hypocrisy regarding gays...except that, of course, he's NOT GAY, he keeps telling us.

Hey, you straight guys on the board – have you ever reached your foot under the stall wall in a public restroom in order to touch the foot of the person in the next stall? Ever waved your hand under the wall, at the guy next to you?

And EVERYONE on the board, would YOU pick up ANY piece of paper on a bathroom floor?

Larry's in trouble because of his hypocrisy. Nearly 30 years of it. I feel so sorry for friends in Idaho who've voted for this man, election after election.

We could have been spared all this had he admitted who and what he is in the first place. But the GOP demands otherwise. God help you if you're gay, 'cause they'll do their damndest to keep you out of the military, to begrudge you protection against hate crimes, and deny you the civil rights and freedoms of heterosexual married couples.

The only thing that would cause Larry Craig to pursue trying to undo what he's already admitted is a deep, undeniable, unfathomable need to go down in the flames of self-destruction.

More sleaze coming soon!

Any claim that either party has anything to gain in terms of Senate votes ignores the fact that Idaho is 68% Republican and has a GOP Governor. It will remain a red state no matter what happens to Senator Craig.

Any claim that Arlen Specter is somehow a “political animal” playing some partisan game ignores his 40+ year record as a statesman who says whatever he believes regardless of the consequences. I say this as a loyal Democrat out of respect to a decent Republican.

And finally, our obsession with this tawdry affair, (and dozens of others like it) ignores the fact that we are faced with a global threat from terrorists, bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq, falling behind the world in education, have no coherent immigration policy, and that we still have 47 million uninsured, an American city devastated, record home foreclosures, and a ballooning national debt to China and other economic competitors.

Is there any chance we could get our heads out of the bathroom stalls long enough to face our real problems as a nation?

If Sen. Specter is asking Larry Craig to stand up and fight against the homophobia dripping in the Republican ranks, I respect that kind of fortitude. On the other hand, I would have to say that Sen. Specter is really feeding the Democrats a lot of fodder, enough to nuke the Republicans out of the House, Senate, and White House in 2008. I can't say I am not happy about a Democratic takeover in '08, but this is straight up overkill.

I would agree with you, except for the fact that Craig supported was partly responsible for the laws that are used to hound gays out of the military on a regular basis. Therefore I have no sympathy for him. To conservatives, it's his homosexual behavior that's a problem. To the rest of us, his hypocrisy stinks to high heaven.

Oh, and anyone who thinks it's possible to make contact with the person's feet in the next stall by taking a "wide stance" either has somehow never been in a public restroom, or has a serious screw loose. In the latter case, I have a lovely bridge over the East River you might be interested in investing in.

In my long career as a diplomat I have visited just about every toilet in every major airport. But I had no clue of the existence of a specific meaning to Mr Craig's alledged alluring motions.

Was that entrapment? Would the presence of a uniformed security guard on open watch in that washroom not have been deterring enough and far less costly? Am I to believe that in presumably a long-term program of deterrence at that airport, Mr Craig is the only one to have engaged in that behaviour? Are there some numbers we need maybe?

And let us not forget that this case has attracted attention only after a "leak" of the information. What?!... not a political coup of sorts?!

That having been said, transparency in ALL transactions and situations is the stuff of the conduct expected in all public servants–and yes, I would fight too.

Yeah, Craig clearly seems to have knowingly inappropriately solicited gay sex. Indeed, that's wrong, but so is speeding and drinking underage. And who here can claim innnocence on those fronts? Does such an infraction deserve to be career-altering?

On the other hand, Craig is known by many as a vocally (politically) anti-gay. While maybe not "WRONG" legally, that he has chosen the gay lifestyle himself does seem to be grounds to question the man's integrity. That said, I can see that he's trapped in party policy and "pandering."

It's a mess for sure.

Ideally, this event would help sponsor an honest dialog about what's really important to the country. Perhaps what might be seen here is that an individual's sexual preference is not critical to the future of the country or the world. To see this dialog occur in the political forum would give me renewed hope for American politics.

http://www.myspace.com/prophecy617