The governor of New Jersey, James E. McGreevey, resigns, admitting to having had an affair with a man. While his wife might not be too thrilled, I don't see why this means McGreevey has to resign. President Clinton had affairs and didn't step down from office, though some would surely have liked it if he had. NYC's former mayor, Rudy Giuliani, had essentially two wives while in office--the official one and the one he was having an affair with, whom he took, I believe, to official events, and who is now his wife--and yet did not resign, although he did withdraw from the senate race. Is hetero adultery that much more forgivable than the gay variety?
Thursday, August 12, 2004
More than metrosexual
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13 comments:
I don't see why he must resign -- but I understand why he might think he needs to.
As someone who used a wholesome, All-American image, it is, in a sense, a violation of trust to say....'I'm this other guy'.
Mostly, I think, he likely felt he didn't need the hassle of trying to govern with this cloud hanging over him. He's circling the wagons instead.
I feel terrible for him. But it's certainly understandable.
Understandable, yes, but unfortunate. Imagine if he'd admitted to screwing up in his personal life, but decided to make a point of letting his constituents know that his political life was a separate matter.
He's apparently about to get by a sexual harassment suit from a male aid. Given that he's supposedly a terrible goverornor, and at least least a top ten broken campaign promises of all time governor, it's doubtful he'd have the political support to weather such a thing. I believe I also saw somewhere a claim that he might be subject to blackmail/political pressure over this secret, so he decided to just admit it and get out of a job he could no longer do effectively.
Hmm. I hadn't even realized NJ had a governor before this. Maybe he was just so terrible at being governor, and so uninterested in his job that he gave the "I had a gay affair" explanation just to get out of the job. Probably not, though.
When Dylan says 'apparently' he means 'I just saw this on Southern Appeal' (or Instapundit, Prof. Bainbridge, etc.)
McGreevey isn't great, to be sure.
But let's hold off on the speculation until everything settles a bit.
Jim McGreevey is/was not "a terrible governor." He raised taxes on the very rich while refusing to hike the tax rate on the majority of New Jerseyians. Very cool. Moreover, he is one of the finest gay-Americans I can think of. (Thanks, Tom Hanks, for coining one of the best and most ridiculous, p.c./patriotic hybrid neologisms of recent years).
I think the real clincher is not the affair, the gayness, or the governance but the corruption. The dude he was sleeping with was being paid by the state AFTER the guy resigned as the head of McGreevey's security force. He was just some unspecified, untitled advisor, and the McGreevey camp had been refusing for months to explain what this guy's 110,000 thou-a-year function even was. That is very suspicious and, despite being totally HOT, pretty much unforgiveable.
Spencer,
Again with Bainbridge? You seem a bit...preoccupied.
Bobo,
The NJ governor isn't THAT hot, except maybe by politician standards.
He isn't hot at all. But the angle of "ostensibly hetero politician hires semi-attractive glorified-bodyguard and, for the sake of extending the affair, risks his career by keeping him illegally on the payroll" is, most definitely, HOT.
Wrong, but hot.
He isn't hot at all. But the angle of "ostensibly hetero politician hires semi-attractive glorified-bodyguard and, for the sake of extending the affair, risks his career by keeping him illegally on the payroll" is, most definitely, HOT.
Wrong, but hot.
"The timing of the governor's coming out was apparently driven by the potential lawsuit, and the timing of his resignation - Nov. 15 - was driven by a desire to avoid an interim election...."
"In the murky politics surrounding him, being gay may be the least complicated issue Mr. McGreevey could address - and that may explain why he did not delve into the other troubles in his speech."--NYT editorial.
So he DID come out, in a sense, just to get out of a jam. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
No no no. Not 'again with Bainbridge.' Dylan happens to be a Prof B. fan. The idea that Bainbridge was a 'terrible governeor' is simply a PB-like assertion. I.e., w/out any substantiation.
Just because I promised to never rail against him again doesn't mean I can't mention him in the appropriate context.
Oh. And I mis-spoke. I meant when Dylan says 'supposedly' not 'apparently'.
Different contexts. I assumed, too, that there was some blackmail thing going on.
But the idea that he's a terrible governor...ahh, not so sure about.
He raised taxes. Case closed! Oh, and he's been divorced. Pure evil!
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