Exactly why Roberts did what he did - media adoration.
He's receiving his reward from men alright, but he's sacrificed his soul ( and this country) to get it.
Oddly enough, this would probably be defeatable, with a little Freeping. If he gets back from Malta, and undergoes what Al Gore underwent (”Get out of Dick Cheney’s house!” only more like “Traitor! Coward! Spineless! Liberal!”), I’d bet he would think twice before pulling that little stunt again. Those who crave adulation are even more sensitive to personal criticism.
I’ll bet the subtle image of being surrounded by hostile individuals taunting him would affect him more than we could understand. And it would prevent him from thinking such a move as he pulled would be worth it in the future.
The alternative is to let the Liberals reward this little prick’s cowardice with ego stroking, and begin to train him, which will be a huge problem in the future if we don’t counter it with a sharp correction.