This is really great fun to watch. We are rooting for you LARRY and hoping you get to withdraw your GUILTY plea and are looking forward to your trial when you get to be cross-examined about looking through cracks in the stall and bumping feet! You will have a jury of about…12 million of your peers who "get it." Hoping your new trial comes in about the fall of 2008. Keep up the wide stance. You'll need it. Go Larry!

[...] Scandal reverberates in D.C. [image] The last pages of the sign-in book at Sen. Larry Craig's Washington, D.C. office were empty as Congress […] [...]

He ran as a Republican. Therefore he must put forth the virtues that the charter calls for. If he goes against that then he must resign. Or he could switch to the Democratic party, sleep with a 17 year old male intern, hide $90,000 in his freezer, let a girl drown in his car, get caught drunk driving and then be just brought home by the police, where he runs an escort service out of his tax payer funded apartment where he lives with his pimp boyfriend.

People, please!! All you bloggers ranting and spitting hatred to one another are perhaps WORSE than the politicians ALL of you seem to despise so much. I'm thinking our stupid, quarreling, corrupt pols are simply a reflection of their constituents, at least if you look at it that way after reading all the fighting, quarreling comments being hurled about on this blog. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!! Expressing an opinion is one thing: spewing vitriol and hatred and bashing and lambasting and childish name-calling are another!! Chill, mellow people!

Well, Timmy of Tx, I am visiting you again. I just read your posting of 9:49. You seem to have gnawing issues against too much and too many.

Keep firing invectives to the Universe if you prefer, but it will not acquire you an audience. You are too belligerant, my friend.

How on earth does a comment section for a story about a man soliciting sex in a public restroom turn into Republican this, Democrat that?

Seriously, we're at war, the housing market is shaky, the gap between the poor and the rich is growing, 1/10th of the country doesn't have reliable health care, social security is going bankrupt, federal spending is beyond sight, and the Democrats on this website have nothing better to talk about?

There is no wonder in my mind why neither party can bring forward an intelligent individual to run for President. If this is what being "politically affiliated" means, then only idiots practice politics.

Yea….the democrats entrapped him. Thats as far fetched as they get! Democrats have nothing to do with the values or lack of in the GOP and because we dont spend time looking to tear others down over their personal indiscretions, we are not befuddled when one of our own strays because we know that everyone is human. Personally I believe Craig should've come out years ago. I feel sorry for him to have to hide what he really is. Must be sad to belong to a party that hates people like you! Rocks….glasses houses…HELLO!

What an amazing waste of time that our lawmakers and newsmakers present to us!

I'd like to see these people put this same stupendous attention on one primary national issue using politicians' names, faces, voting records and related activities for two weeks per issue. Then recheck just what gets done by our government officials who now must be as publicly responsible and accountable as Craig.

We are a country of fools who not only permit this type of reporting, but seek it out for entertainment.
We do this when we have more important topics to finish like
a) a war that is killing our children for an ideology we don't support,
b) a housing loan market that could adversely affect our economy for years,
c) an energy problem that is sucking disposable dollars from us with no end in site or help from our politicians who have let this issue ride for 40 years,
d) an infrastructure issue so severe that we are told to expect bridges to collapse and kill like the one in MN
e) an antiquated flight control system that will take another fortune to install, but not to be in place for almost a decade,
f) a car industry, once the envy of the world, that has just lost #1 world position to a foreign car maker,
g) a school funding problem that is so old and talked about that most people ignore the pittance our teachers receive for supplies while the states' expect them to spend a $1000/year or more of their own money to supply their students,
h) health insurance fiasco, plights of the elderly, government social
security theft…..
This is a long and incomplete list of national, major issues and yet we dedicate weeks of time to an issue that has more entertainment value than national importance.
Write your politicians. Make them be responsible for the real issues that affect us all.

Ah, yes… comments from Nick B from the Peoples Republic of Austin. How lucky am I?

Young man, I have graduated from middle school. Business School too! And an English/Journalism undergrad squeezed in there, too. And indeed Tar and Feather is the appropriate term here. All Republicans are painted with the broad brush of hypocracy because one guy has issues. Not my problem. Don't paint me with his brush.

Grasshopper, a recent study of history would show that indeed, the party of Democrats as a whole are not held accountable for the actions of a few. Democrats were not forced to wear Bill Clinton's scarlet letter. Nor was the entire party called to answer for Undle Teddy Kennedy's Grand Underwater Oldsmobile Adventure. But mind you, had either of them had an (R) behind his name, the entire party would be called "perjuring adulters" and… I dunno, what exactly would one call Uncle Teddy? He's the kind of guy you'd love to have a drink with and tell war stories, but you'd never leave your daughter or your Chivas in the same room with him unattended.

Silly religious beliefs, eh? Oh, yeah, sort of like the Immaculate Holy Roller Church of the Devine Global Warming Scam (with it's sister organization, the Holy Carbon-Foot-Print-Offsetting Bonanza Cash Flow congregation)? You mean THAT religion? You folks like to cram that religion down the throats of the "infidels." "Convert or die, you non-global-warming-believing heathen!" It's like Faith for the Faithless. Well, at least you all believe in SOMETHING, even if it is misguided.

Besides, I thought you "progressives" liked gay people? I just assumed you guys would come out with loving open arms, ready to embrace the dear Senator in his time of need. Your "tolerance" runneth over.

Silly liberals… always good for a laugh.

Timmy from tx.

"Maybe you should stick to your day job of begging for money, and forget about giving opinions when you are a guest in someone else's place."

As I said, your opinion is just one of the 300.000.000. "Begging for money", and being "a guest in someone else's place" are positions that are not typically entertained by other Americans.

You see your country as being an island, that's just you. You also see the UN as being yours, again, that's just you. And, finally, you see me as "begging" for money. That's something I do not dispute. All three charges, as phrased, are highly inflammatory. I know for a fact the typical American does not share yor views.

CNN is accessible worlwide via satellite. I take that as an invitation to make use of it. I do it routinely.

As to the end of Mr Craig legal outcome, I have already posted my prognostications. That remains my view. I'll be happy to learn something else if the legal case turns otherwise.

For those who have not been reading these comments, here are the leading positions:

Democrats: It is so much fun to see the Republicans stewing over this particular kind of scandal. They played the morality card to get themselves elected, sold their souls to the fundamentalists, and went on and on and on about Clinton and Monica. Now they have to endure the humiliation of their formerly respected leaders hitting on House pages and seeking anonymous sex in airport mens' rooms. Har, har, har.

Republicans: CNN is the Clinton News Network. The only allow posts favoring Democrats to be posted. It is not fair. There are plenty of Democrats who are just as bad as us. They are hypocrites. Look at what Clinton did and no one did anything to him (???????) did they? Besides, all he did was tap his toe. Is that a crime? Besides it was entrapment. Isn't entrapment a crime? (No)

The Weary Citizen: We perhaps should spend some time solving the nation's problems instead of talking about sex so much. There are American children who need medicine, older Americans who cannot support themselves, the national infrastructure is disintegrating, there are lots more terrorists now than there were before we started the war on terrorism, drugs are easier to buy than they were before we started the war on drugs, our enormous national debt is owned by the Communist Chinese and Arab sheiks,
our children cannot afford to go to college, middle class wages are stagnant, and the growing wealth of the nation is all being siphoned off by the wealthiest Americans to pad their enormous bank accounts even more, the people we send to Congress are a bunch of self-serving, self-seeking, self-applauding blow-hards, and we have to face the fact that all of this is our fault.

Stay in office, Mr Craig!

All these Democrats/liberals CRYING about a little "sex". WOW… wasn't that the SAME line you libs were using to defend Clinton? (It's only sex)

Stay in office, Mr Craig! Let the libs/dems complaign about YOUR same-sex "problem" (they'll call it) and then call for same-sex marriage!

And what does all this noise about same-sex marriage and gay "rights" (false because gays have the same rights as straight people) do to the moderate voters? Pushes them to the right.

MOST states passed a defense of marriage act… hmmm… wonder why???

It still dumbfounds me why he plead guilty. Guilty or not, they didn't have enough to hold him on if he simply said "No I didn't."

He was obviously thinking with the wrong "head"….to late for do-overs sir, nothing to see here…..move on….

This morning I posted a comment on the Larry Craig story, calling out the Republicans and the press for their obvious political/business justifications on jettisoning Craig (guarenteed Republican replacement) and retaining his equally corrupt colleague David Vitter because Vitter would be replaced by a Democrat; something big business, news corporations and Republicans do not want.
CNN deleted my comment…too close to home?

The Repubs can go after Craig and not Vitter because Idaho has a Republican governor to name Craig's replacement and Louisiana has a Democrat to name Vitter's.

See how that works? It's not about what these sleezebags did–it's about who gets to replace them.

A few suggestions for Eric from the non-existant "republic of texas":
1. Graduate from middle school, read a book or two, and learn a new phrase besides "tar and feather" before you try and act all high and mighty.
2. If you haven't heard the democratic party being addressed as a group, then you are paying even less attention than you make yourself sound. And don't try to excuse your party's behavior because you don't feel Dems as a group have been attacked for their member's behavior. A brief study of history would let anyone know that is a ridiculous philosophy to adopt.
3. Saying that liberals have "no values" is just stupid. Perhaps what seems foreign to you is that we don't desperately try to legislate and impose our silly religious beliefs in order to reinforce our own insecurities.
4. Last but not least, "tolerance" has less to do with stereotyping and more to do with stopping the use of inaccurate labeling of groups. Unfortunately in your case, YES, we are "tarring and feathering" your entire ridiculous party as hypocrites.
Salut!

It is ironic that most posters and mainly apologists for the GOP ignore an important trait of human beings. The trait is that to be looked on as moral and respectful and having "family values" these persons often have "skeletons and behaviors" hidden away with the hope these behaviors will never see the light of day. Unfortunately for them there is Larry Flint offering a million dollars to anyone who reveals hypocrites in congress. There are politicians, ministers, other public figures who espouse moral family values and then sneakingly behave just the opposite, often getting caught. Sweigart, Bakker, Haggard, Craig, and numerous other high profile persons. It will happen to those who pontificate the most about morals, family values and such and the vast majority are Republicans as they have taken on the mantle of deciding what is best for each American rather than letting us choose for ourselves how we desire to behave without government intervention.
A smart electorate would repudiate anyone who uses religion, morals or values to get votes because we see what they often do. Unfortunately the electorate, for the most part, elects those who they know very little about except for their blabber and talk about how moral they are. We get what we vote for! Many other politicians don't feel it necessary to tell others how to live their lives. They mainly try to develop legislation to improve the lives of Americans and letting Americans decide what's best for themselves. Almost like "Pro-Choice" in behavior. My, what a unique proposition!

pl at the UN:

"…depends from each observer's opinion. And I am pretty sure that there are 300,000,000 such opinions in your country. Also, I am absolutely sure that I agree with none of those opinions."

Well, no, it depends upon the law, which is made by our elected representatives. I don't particularly agree with all of our laws, and I also don't agree with the opinions of many Americans.

I can't figure out for the life of me why, with your attitudes, I should give a flying hoot about your opinion, however.

"Mr Craig played footsies in a public washroom. Playng footsies is not a crime. Foot contact is also not a crime unless criminality can be established beyond doubt."

No, Senator Craig solicited sex, which is illegal where he was. If he had been soliciting sex from women in the airport, he likely would have been arrested for that, too — except of course he probably couldn't have been in the woman's bathroom to do it.

But whether the crime he committed could be proven or not, he pleaded guilty, so the point is moot — he did it by his own admission. Read the document that he signed!

"No other corroborating evidence exists. It will be very difficult to prove a criminal intent"

Again, you are wrong: the proof is to be obtained by his own guilty plea.

"Mr Craig's 'confession' and subsequent plea were probably caused by a rush to salvage the 'integrity' of his public persona."

Rush? What "rush?" He had plenty of time to consider his plea, and he plead guilty. He threatened to retain a lawyer, as was his right, but he did not do that. He wasn't rushed, nor was he deprived of the opportunity to defend himself or have a lawyer do so.

Maybe you should stick to your day job of begging for money, and forget about giving opinions when you are a guest in someone else's place.

"he's shunned by his own kind simply based on a voting record. Intolerance indeed."

Posted By BCNU purple state, usa :

Heck yeah he is being shunned b/c of his voting record. Tell for what other reason should a SENATOR be shunned?

And No it probably would not be such a big deal if he was a Dem that did not run on a family values platform (It would still make the news though). He is not being criticized for being "homosexual" but for being Adulterous, Criminal, and Hypocritical. Even people that are not senetor will be shunned if arrested, charged, and pled guilty to what Craig pled guilty to.

He has spent at least the past decade on a family values platform, family values he does not have. He is being shunned because people feel betrayed and lied to.

two words….JEFF GANNON.

First Craig pleads guilty, then says he's innocent. He had six weeks to think it over and go over the form he signed which admitted his guilt and that the police report was correct, and he still made a "bad choice".

Then he says he's resigning and now says he might not.

Anyone see a pattern here?

I hope all of the Senate and the state of Idaho has had quite enough of Mr. Craig.

One more stupid distraction from the serious business of government.

I am not American. I cannot vote. As a diplomat, I continuosly globetrot in search for aid.

At this point my observations of what is happening here is getting increasingly muddy. How can I construct a focus out of all that is said about this "scandal" which might not be a scandal after all?

A few actions seem to be "certain".
- Mr Craig played footsies in a public washroom. Playng footsies is not a crime. Foot contact is also not a crime unless criminality can be established beyond doubt. Hard to do here;
- He was charged with the intent to solicit "lewd activities of a homosexual nature" in a public washroom. That is the conclusion of one single airport cop. No other corroborating evidence exists. It will be very difficult to prove a criminal intent;
- no words were exchanged, no assault took place. The recipient was not a "child" as described by your law. He remained a willing, accepting, exchanging party for as long as playing footsies went on. How do you prove a breech of the law out of that?
- Mr Craig's 'confession' and subsequent plea were probably caused by a rush to salvage the 'integrity' of his public persona. There is nothing criminal about that;
- my list could go on for long enough to bore you.

The injured person here is the GOP, Congress, the family, and one single ideal: absolute transparency. I condone that, yes, transparency was compromised, but only to a level that depends from each observer's opinion. And I am pretty sure that there are 300,000,000 such opinions in your country. Also, I am absolutely sure that I agree with none of those opinions.

So, is it really a 'scandal'? I don't believe that 'scandal' can even be defined anymore.

If it is not a crime, not a scandal, therefore not even questionable conduct because there is no consensus about it, what is it?

By now I look at it with amusement and I am beginning to interpret it as recurrence of Classical Greek tragedies. But this well coriographed tragedy, American style, might not turn out to possess a fundamental Act–the final, tragic, self-cleansing Act–because Senator Craig is not going to self-immolate through resignation.

To anyone who is concerned about facts:

In the last 10 years Republican scandals in Congress have outnumbered Democratic ones 10 to 5.

However, that is not the point. Issues and incidents should not be determined by an inflexible ideology.

Oh please! So one of Sen. Larry Craig's lawyers says the Senate has no business looking into the conduct of one of its own and that there is a 220 year precedent which makes it clear the Senate does not consider misdemeanor private conduct to be a fit subject of inquiry??
Is this the same party that went after Bill Clinton for sex with an (female) intern?
What hypocrites!

Joseph P – you wrote about the GOP,
"Pedophiles/Crimminals/Homosexuals/Infidelity"

- – - – -

Interesting you listed homosexuals with criminals and pedophiles. In your mind is there a similarity going on there??

So what does all this prove with Larry Craig? That some of the GOP behaves like some of the Dems: Barney Frank, Bill Clinton, Teddy Kennedy, Sandy Berger, James McGreevey, Gary Condit, Rostenkowki, Mel Reynolds, etc.

Larry Craig is beholden to his constituents – who will decide his political fate. All the screaming and hollering from 49 other states is meaningless chatter.

Right. Vitter. He wasn't in the Senate. He was in the HOUSE. Oh, that makes it all better. As long as it's not a Senate problem.

THIS is why the GOP has lost me forever. Hypocrites. Spinning their wheels on relatively inconsequential matters while GW Nero fiddles away.

And cuts taxes while we put a war on credit card.
And spies on citizens.
And destroys our credibilty at home and abroad.
And…..

E C in Houston,

Time to change the meds man!!!

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid strongly suggested Republican leaders judged the Idaho senator,…"

Gee Harry, ya think so? I would venture to guess they aren't the only ones judging. Reid's comments amount to his being judgemental, nearly every comment in this blog has been judgemental (mostly from those who are members of, or sympathetic with the party of tolerance.

Most call Sen. Craig a hypocrite (that's actually the proper spelling for many of you mental heavyweights out there using the word).

Is he actually a hypocrite? He ran on a 'family values' campaign platform, but gets caught not displaying them. Most here want to string him up for that because he votes against gay rights (due to that family values platform'), but is he not voting true to the issues for which he was elected? Is he representing his constituency as they felt he would? Not letting personal opinions alter his vote, but yielding to what he feels is the will of his constituency looks to me like he is doing his job.

I woudl think the GLBT would welcome a new member with open arms, love him even though he has some faults because, we can't all be perfect, can we? But, he has a differing political opinion than the rest of the community so let's boot him to the curb. So many say he's in denial, he's really gay but doesn't want to admit it and won't vote that way (part of that doing his job thing again). Instead of compassion and recommendations for a 12-step come-out-of the-closet plan that must surely exist somewhere, he's shunned by his own kind simply based on a voting record. Intolerance indeed.

Just food for thought.

Yeah, and we all know just how ethical and honest those dems are – infidelity, bribery, theft of classified documents. Wow, they really do outshine the GOP, and have truly demonstrated their commitment to be the most honest and open Congress in history. What is the approval rating now? 18% ?

Sen. Craig's mail-in plea did not state with specificity what offense he committed. Disorderly conduct encompasses many different things. He was entitled to know exactly what his offense was. (beeping a horn, public profanity ,mooning, etc.)

Sounds like the Senator from Potato Land is taking a different "stance". Seems like the wide one has become a lot more narrow. Senator Specter is a master at this – keep your seatbelt buckled as anything could happen.

E.C., you seem serious, so I'll give you a serious answer: I think every guy who read about this imagined himself cluelessly sitting next to a vice cop and accidentally making a 'signal.' Craig would be a good target for a setup because there have been rumors about him before. But you'd have to know which bathroom he'd go to, and have someone complain to airport authorities fast enough to get the vice cop there. And did you check out the cop? He's no liberal. He busts gay men for a living. He was certain Craig made a move. Neither party has gained anything by this sad incident.

Its amazing that we can have a "Sex Scandal" without ever having sex. Gotta love the liberal media. I wonder how this would have played out had Sen. Craig had a (D) following his name?

I see the dialog is breaking down. A quick look at the facts. Sen. Craig has pled guilty to a crime. Not a spur of the moment plea, a plea weeks later. If he is not guilty of the crime he pled to (without telling an attorney, his family, or aides???), then he is guilty of a serious lapse of judgement. Either of these is enough reason to be out of our governing body.
This isn't a gay or straight thing. This isn't a republican or democratic thing.
This person has shown that they are not fit to be in our Congress. Are there others? Of course there are but in this blog we are discussing Sen. Craig. Sen. Vitter has not been indited. His constituants will decide his fate.

Sooooo, if Conservatives as a whole try to live their lives by some sort of code, or set of "values," if you will, and then some Conservative falls short of those values, do you then tar and feather the entire group of people as hypocrites?

I thought "progressives" didn't stereotype people, right? That's what the whole "tolerance" thing was about, right?

And, when you consider that liberals, as a whole, don't hold ANY values and don't hold anyone accountable for their behavior, then I guess it's just fine and dandy when they behave inappropriately. See, if you hold no values, no one can call you hypocritical when you act like a cad. Boorish and inappropriate behavior is OK… but God forbid we be accused of being hypocritical.

Funny that Conservatives are tarred and feathered as a group for the behavior of a few, yet liberals as an entire group are never held accountable for the behavior of a few. I don't hear anyone talking about a "culture of corruption" in the Democratic party in regard to William Jefferson and his "cool" $90K, or James Traficant, Rostenkowski, Cisneros, Torricelli, Gerry Studds, etc. etc. etc.

When the entire Democratic party is smeared for Gary Condit's suspicious behavior and Teddy Kennedy's Oldsmobile, then I'll take this Craig thing seriously. Until then, it's just a lot of noise.

Remember, what they can't achieve at the ballot box, they'll attempt via the courts or scandal mongering.

It's all a political game that the stuffed shirts in Washington love to play. Let's see, Sen. Craig should resign for pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, yet Bill Clinton gets re-elected after America finds out he uses the Oval Office as a sexual playground. Stop the finger pointing and all of the rediculous hearings, and so called investigations, and get on with the peoples business if those bozos in Washington remembers what that is.

I don't view Craig's activity in light of a homo/hetero issue.

1. His behavior was disgusting.
2. While folks who are gay/lesbian may have a number of different views on this whole incident, I cannot imagine that most would think Craig's bathroom behavior to be very dignified.
3. For once, McCain has something right: the guy pleaded guilty. He never got a lawyer as he threatened. He is using bogus dodges to cover up his inappropriate behavior.
4. Reid is being hypocritical in his innuendos: I cannot imagine that one party is more "moral" than the other, despite what either may claim. Reid needs to go back to giving out gaming licenses to mafioso in Nevada. I think his morality in granting Sinatra a license shows he's nothing more than a a real life version of Senator Geary from "The Godfather."
5. The point about Gingrich, Livingston, Hyde, et al sitting in judgment of Clinton is right on, IMO, tho I still consider Clinton a scum also.
6. Vitter's behavior does disqualify him, IMO. He fits in well with a long history of the Longs, Edwards, Nagin, Blanco, etc., so I'm not surprised. Anyhow, at least he does admit that he's guilty.
7. Bottom line is that Americans are willing to vote for all sorts of dirt bags, such as those I've listed, and so we've gotten only what we deserve, including the present lot of bums. We have nobody to blame but ourselves, not politicians, lawyers, Democrats or Republicans. Failure to take responsibility is a hallmark of our generation.

Senator, please stop. We're not interested. We don't want to see that. Go away. Stop tapping on America's stall. Stop wiggling your fingers at the media. Zip it.

Everyone is concerned about this (and rightly so), yet these same people let Clinton get away with all he did! Talk about a double standard!!

Crooked and corrupt Republicans
We are now seeing the real GOP
Pedophiles/Crimminals/Homosexuals/Infidelity

Hey E. C. in Houston, the Republican Party IS the party of deception! No amount of paranoia and self delusion can change that. Seven years and mountains of recorded evidence support this conclusion. Obfuscation, passing the buck, failure to take personal responsibility, hypocrisy, fear mongering, and a host of other revolting character traits appear to be a requirement for Republican politicians, and of course, their supporters.

Why don't they be honest – the real reason is because if they pressured Vitter to resign, the democratic governor would appoint a democrat. Also, the hypocrisy – Vitters situation happened soliciting a female, while Craig broke the gop cardinal rule and was soliciting gay sex. Both situations are disgusting, and what's good for the goose should be good for the gander. But, the gop is consistent with they're hypocrisy and double standards, so this is to be expected.

Republicans are not "moral" any more than Democrats are "immoral," Bert. Why don't you teach your children that moral people exist, rather than trying to tie it into political affiliation? It'll save you a lot of grief.

Looks like the GOP circus is going to have at least a two ring show this season, the Craig clown act and the Vitter elephant act. We can add another ring if the hilarious Gonzalez ventriloquist act returns (it's so funny when his lips move!). They will also need another announcer and Master of Ceremonies as Tony and Karl are gone.

It's still too early to figure out in what ring to put the presidential hopefuls.

I don't think the Dems will be able to match this.

I feel for Craig's wife; he's played her for an utter fool, and she's gone along with it. The same is true for his kids.

Isn't it odd how the very people who preach loudly about moral integrity have the filthiest private lives? It's greatly entertaining but the pattern sure is a curious one.

The whole overblown story about Senator Craig is just more of the same: keep the already bad and unimproving news coming out of Iraq from being the main story. But, while it's out there might as well ask "is someone like Craig allowed inside the compassionate conservative big tent party, or is this what's being tossed out?" Surely there is very little compassion for Craig, and by trying to obfuscate the issue of wrongdoing by recanting his guilty plea, one wonders (as one post stated earlier) about his competency to tell the truth. Methinks that at long last two things are being tossed from that Big Tent: Larry Craig and compassion; unless of course you're straight (re:Vitter) where there was nothing close to the outrage and vitriol spat out by those who castigated Craig. I guess alleged homosexual behavior is far worse a transgression against the party of "family values" than violating the marital vow of fidelity. Where's Reverend Ted when you need him? But I digress…… Have a fun week ahead y'all! Who's next?

I wish you people would stop playing your typical political BS games and look at this whole matter sensibly. First off, a wide stance? That is simply ridiculous. You don't need to spread your feet apart to keep your pants up. You need to spread your knees apart. Second, have any of you tried to spread your feet so far apart that they reach into the neighboring stall? You can't do it by accident. Third, I dare thee to find a person who is going to pickup toilet paper off the floor of the stall in a public bathroom and if the officer saw his hand under the partition doesn't it beg to differ that Mr. Craig was reaching for paper on the floor of the adjacent stall? Give us a break Larry. And finally, when was the last time any of you peeked through the slit in the door to see if the stall was occupied? If the door is closed you assume it is. If there is any question you step back, lean over and look for feet. Mr. Craig peeks through the door? I don't buy it!!!!

Bottom line in all of this; Larry Craig is a closet case and tried to hide it from his wife, his family, and his constituents but got caught…. and no-one would care had he not been so outspoken as to his family values, anti-gay platform.

Of COURSE there's a double-standard within the Repooplican Party! That's how those people do business: "Do as I say; not as I do."

I'm so tired of the lot of them and their pious pronouncements; I'd like the whole lot of the holier-than-thou Rightwingers to just shut up.

Even better, I'd like the whole lot of 'em to just go away…for good!

This incident appears and sounds exactly like another lowly Democrat Partisan 'Sting Operation,' and stab at the Republican Party. Could such a purposeful set-up to humiliate another Republican Senator be a surprise to any decent person in this country, especially after the other activities of the Democrats recently? Just look at the 'All New Democratic Congress…pledged to be Non-Partisan by Pelosi…." What a joke! Someone, somewhere, must have paid for such action. In my opinion, this incident seems like a contrived situation, not a random act or spontaneous happening.

Larry Craig should resign. It's bad enough to be a closet case, but it's even worse when you dedicate your career to voting against equal rights for gay/lesbian people in an attempt to hide your secret. He was caught. And still he lied. Over an over again. We have enough dishonest policitians as is, one less would be a great idea.

This was not a "homosexual" sting. Gay men have sex in the privacy of there own homes. "straight" men with wifes, kids, etc that dont have the "testiclar fortitude" to bare the brunt of comming out of the closet troll for sex in the bathroom.

A large percentage of the men arrested for exactly what Sen. Craig was doing are married with kids. Don't dump Craig into the Gay community, because he does'nt want to be here and we dont want him.

Trolling for sex in a public bathroom is not a Gay man thing, its a "straight" man with issues thing.

Craig needs to stop saying "I'm not Gay" and start saying "I was'nt trolling for sex in a public restroom" Its the sex + public restroom part thats illegal NOT the "with a man part"

Mr Reid, it is a senate problem to be sure, but based on your house's approval rating, don't be too quick to believe that you'll convince Americans that either party is worth our vote.

Wow, what happened to my Republican party? How do I explain this to my 9 and 11 year olds? I keep telling them we Republicans are moral people, yet every time my kids watch TV the sex scandals on TV are about Republicans. Can't we do any better?

Well Melissa, most Republican lawmakers are biased against homosexuals, and I think Reid makes an excellent and noteworthy point: why does the same crime not warrant the same punishment? Your guess is as good as mine, but I smell homophobia on Capitol Hill.

Of course, what's new?

If CNN intends to carry this story into the next news cycle, then it ought, as a matter of journalistic integrity, disambiguate between 1) being arrested for being in a bathroom and seeking sex with a man, and 2) being arrested for seeking sex-in-a-bathroom, and be absolutely clear about exactly why & how #1 is against the law.

It is kind of a Dear John book.

Jack Jett

It's amazing to me that Harry Reid will not stereotype homosexuals yet he stereotypes the entire Republican Senate as biast against homosexuals. I thought he was smarter than that…

I don't recall Vitter lying under oath to a judge. Did I miss something here?

Poor guy, that's pretty cold…

The whole support Vitter while they throw Craig under the bus is such BS. They support a man who breaks the law by hiring prostitutes (no, he wasn't in the senate at the time McConnell, he was in the HOUSE moron.) and they shun the man who broke no laws. I don't understand this…is it possibly because one type of perceived immorality (consensual homosexual sex) is much more politically safe to castigate than the adulterous, illegal HETEROSEXUAL behavior of Vitter? I guess hypocrites come in many different flavors.

So he signs a plea bargain in which he formally admits guilt and then says he's thinking about fighting it. He says he's resigning his post and then (apparently) says he's reconsidering that, too.

I frankly don't give a horse's rear end if the man wants to have sex with any consenting adult of any gender or even any species. But it would be nice if he could make a decision and stick to it.

Craig's belated lawyering up for a "do-over" won't fly with the GOP, which has never had a big enough "tent" for practicing homosexuals. But it brings up these psychitaric issues: (1) is "ego-dystonic homosexuality" still in DSM-IV (TR) as a disorder? (2) if Craig is dystonic and seeks secret oral sex with men, would this condition support withdrawal of the plea on incompetence grounds?

Gay or otherwise, Senator Craig's bathroom antics are simply not appropriate in a public setting. In this he broke the law. He should go away now. Enough said.

I cannot believe you're reporting that Sen. Larry Craig was "arrested in a homosexual sex sting" in the Minneapolis airport. Why not describe it as an "illicit sex sting" or a "disorderly conduct sting" or a "solicitation sting"? Describing it the way you did implies incorrectly that homosexuality is illegal in Minnesota, and it helps to reinforce the wrong-headed notion among many inhabitants of less progressive places than Minnesota that a) homosexuality is wrong and b) that most or all homosexuals do things like solicit sex in bathrooms. Very bad reporting.

Since you obviously want to salm McCain for the "little jerk" remark, you can now take it for the cheap editing of the clip, the bias in the story and the ignoring of the banter and humor in the remarks of Sen McCain.

Congratulations to this 'journalist', for what must be his/her first try at mainline media, sensationalism. Go back to school, kid, before you get drafted!

Who is surprised by the double standards of the Republicans? Many of them are homophobic, and many more of them are HYPOCRITES.

How many of them were having affairs when they were leading the effort to impeach President Clinton?
Newt Gingrich
Henry Hyde
Livingston

Wasn't Vitter's wife the one who made public comments on what she would have done? Looks to me she was doing the same thing Hillary was doing – standing by her man. To each his or her own, but when in glass houses you shouldn't throw stones.

Mr. Craig made a bad choice (according to him) in pleading guilty, and as Senator Spector said this can be fixed. Per Mr. Spector a former prosecutor, he could withdraw his guilty plea. Up to him, but an option.

The scandals and foolishness from both parties is why the public looks at them with disdain.