This one made us stop and pause. There is an inescapable element of political tactic here, and we'll get to that, but also a more painful matter: Have we got to the point that candidates are bound to reveal their darkest, back-of-the-closet secrets to the world if they choose to run for office?
We suspect things haven't gone quite that bad, but Mike McGavick, the Republican running for the Senate in Washington (and near-certain nominee), apparently does. And so, today, he decided to confess all, to the news media and directly to his supporters through a post on his blog. (He also says he had no indication that these items were slated for disclosure by Democrats, that he was beating them to the punch. That's credible, since he makes no effort to excuse or minimize.)
You could say that in one astonishing shot he characterized himself as a drunk driver - testing .17, extremely drunk - a man who got a divorce because he and his wife simply came not to like each other much, a part-time father, a purveyor of a dishonest campaign tactic - in a U.S. Senate race, no less - and a corporate exec who, Enron-style, first said the business was fully righted and then proceeded to lay off 500 employees who weren't expecting it.
You could say that - it would be an intepretation which may get out there and take hold. It would not be a fair interpretation. Three of these incidents were incidents, one-time events, and McGavick indicates remorse for each. The other - about his first marriage - is an essentially private matter, and what he describes is unfortunately familiar to a lot of people. He suggests he has learned and grown. "Here it is," he writes. "I have lots of faults, and I have made some mistakes that I deeply regret." (more…)