CANCELLED FLIGHTS

Just when you thought air travel couldn’t possibly get any worse - any more crowded, more inconvenient, more humiliating, or less pleasant - Senator Larry Craig is arrested for soliciting gay sex in the men’s room at the Minneapolis airport. What the hell is that about?

This isn’t just any senator, mind you. The Idaho conservative and long-time public servant (maybe that’s why the public rest room) is the Senate’s scourge of everything gay in America, the champion of family values and, can you stand it, the Senate liaison for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign. Well, he was on the bus until today, though now he can probably be found under the bus, which is where Mr. Romney threw him.

Tell you the truth, I saw the police report – God, is there no privacy left – and I thought the evidence was kind of thin. Craig was accused of using some sort of “gay code” foot taps to signal the man in the next stall, an undercover cop as it turns out, that he was interested in sex. No words were exchanged. I don’t know; I tap my foot in the john sometimes. It’s a nervous habit. Doesn’t seem very conclusive to me.

In his own defense, Senator Craig began his public remarks in Idaho by saying, “I thank you all for coming out today.” As Keith Olbereman noted, he might have found a better choice of phrases. Unfortunately, Craig did plead guilty to a reduced charge at the time, a plea he now regrets.

Honestly, I feel sorry for Senator Craig. Imagine this poor shlub, terrified of being gay, terrified of being caught, but so desperate for male affection that he seeks it out in public rest rooms. That will make ou old. I hope he finds peace somewhere.

a foot on either side