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OFFICER: All right. I know I can bring you to jail, but that's not my goal here, okay? (inaudible)
CRAIG: Don't do that. You. You.
OFFICER: I'm not going to bring you to jail.
CRAIG: You solicited me.

I think that was a big mistake. Craig tried to turn it around and accuse the cop of solicitation. I imagine the cop didn’t like that very much and that might have made the cop a bit hostile in the interview and given that exchange, I think the cop showed great restraint.

OFFICER: Have you been “successful” in these bathrooms here before?
CRAIG: I go to that bathroom regularly.
OFFICER: I mean for any type of other activities.
CRAIG: No. Absolutely not. I don't “see” activity in bathrooms.

Now that was a funny exchange. Did the Senator say “see” or “seek” because there is a way different connotation depending on which word he really used.

OFFICER: Well, you're not being truthful with me, I'm kinda disappointed in you Senator. I'm real disappointed in your right now. Okay, I'm not, just so you know, just like everybody, I, I, I, treat with dignity. I try to pull them away from the situation…I just, I just. I guess, I guess I'm gonna say I'm just disappointed in you sir. I'm just really am. I expect this from the guy that we get out of the hood. I mean people vote for you… Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we're going down the tubes….

He sure said a mouthful - ;),

Reality Check:

“Hooking up” for sex, heterosexual or homosexual, is not a crime nor should it be a crime. Go to any bar or nightclub on a Friday or Saturday night and you will observe a lot of subtle and some not so subtle body language and signals between people (many of them hetero) “seeking” to “go home” with somebody.

It is however criminal to solicit sex for money (there’s no proof of that here) and it is a crime to have sex in public places (but no actual sex acts occurred here either). How many hetero couples, even married couples have joined the “Mile High Club”. Personally I don’t find a public toilet stall particularly “romantic” – a private hot tub or shower?....never mind, I digress.

Since there was no actual sex act or an offer of an exchange of money for sex, I think the cop should have given the Senator a “stern” warning and a “slap” on the wrist. Even if Craig was cruising, I don’t think his actions warranted an arrest. Do I think Craig is a sleaze and a hypocrite? Yea!

The cop seemed to be very aware that Craig was a Senator. Did that mean the cop had some agenda? Was it entrapment? It’s not in the transcript but I read and heard from various sources that as soon as the cop confronted Craig, he (Craig) handed the cop his Senatorial business card as a “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” and a “Get Out of Jail Free Card”. If true, I think the cop might have let him go with a warning had the Senator not done that, but if Craig tried to invoke some sort of Senatorial Privilege he deserved to be arrested.

Bottom line is that once Craig was read his rights, he should have asked for a lawyer and he should have shut up. Craig’s whiney and desperate attempt at refuting what happened and arguing with the cop and then pleading guilty, doesn’t help his cause one bit.

I have more respect for a person who is Gay and doesn’t try to hide it, than I do for a man who leads a “secret” life, deceiving his wife and family and constituents.

How many hetero couples, even married couples have joined the “Mile High Club”. Personally I don’t find a public toilet stall particularly “romantic”

I'm not sure romantic is the right word. If the flight marshals run out of terrorists to go after and start patrolling airplane lavatories looking for anonymous hookups, then your analogy might have some solidity. But barring any major misconduct on the part of the police or an extremely elaborate conspiracy to bring down a Senator (which I think is very unlikely), I think Craig went to that bathroom to perpetuate a disgusting, and illegal, and unfortunate tradition.

Now if he had just legalized gay marriage, all this wouldn't have needed to happen. /s

It’s not in the transcript but I read and heard from various sources that as soon as the cop confronted Craig, he (Craig) handed the cop his Senatorial business card as a “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” and a “Get Out of Jail Free Card”. If true, I think the cop might have let him go with a warning had the Senator not done that, but if Craig tried to invoke some sort of Senatorial Privilege he deserved to be arrested.

The cop *announced his presence* by passing his own business card under the stall, so Craig's return of a card of his own was more of a reasonable response in that light. But too, who's to say that the cop wasn't cruising for gay pickupos himself? If he likes what he finds, they do their little thing; if not, he busts 'em and his arrest stats go up, a win-win situation.

Until more is known about the individual cop and his past record and character, it's too soon to condemn Craig, especially when the Democratic media and their fellow travellers are screaming for his head.

“Hooking up” for sex, heterosexual or homosexual, is not a crime nor should it be a crime. Go to any bar or nightclub on a Friday or Saturday night and you will observe a lot of subtle and some not so subtle body language and signals between people (many of them hetero) “seeking” to “go home” with somebody.

I heard a defense lawyer on the radio yesterday say that the issue here is "public place." He said that if you get together with a hooker on a street corner, that that is a public area, and you've committed a public solicitation crime. Get with her inside the McDonalds on that same street corner, and you've done nothing wrong. It's a private place, then, and you're having a private conversation about your private lives.

I'm not sure if that has a ring of truth to it or not; what do you all think? Morally, of course not. Legally, I'm not sure.