David Wu admits to 'inexcusable behavior'

PORTLAND, Ore. - A Democratic congressman in a tight re-election race admitted Tuesday that while he was a college student 28 years ago, he was disciplined by school officials for "inexcusable behavior" toward an ex-girlfriend.

The admission by Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., came immediately after a report published in The Oregonian newspaper saying a former girlfriend from college once claimed Wu tried to force her into having sex. The report said the woman, whom the newspaper did not identify, declined to comment, citing privacy concerns.

In his statement, Wu said he had a "two-year romantic relationship that ended with inexcusable behavior on my part."

"I take full responsibility for my actions and I am very sorry," Wu said in a statement. "I was disciplined by Stanford University for my behavior, and I worked with a counselor. This single event forever changed my life and the person I have become."

Wu, 49, is facing a tough re-election challenge this year from Republican Goli Ameri. He is seeking his fourth term in Oregon's 1st Congressional District.

Wu would not speak to The Oregonian for the newspaper's story, which was accompanied by an explanatory editor's note and specified that none of the information in the story had come from Ameri or any Republican officials or activists.

According to The Oregonian, Wu and the woman dated in their junior year, until she broke things off in the spring of 1976.

A former patrol commander at Stanford, Raoul Niemeyer, told The Oregonian that that summer the 21-year-old Wu was brought to the campus police annex after his ex-girlfriend alleged that he tried to force her into sex.

Niemeyer did not see or meet with the woman but said his Officers told him that she was bruised and that she and Wu previously "had some type of a relationship."

"Whether it was an amorous one or whether it was just platonic or what, I never was able to determine because, you know, the guy, he basically clammed up after that and wouldn't talk," Niemeyer told the paper.

Wu was not arrested. The woman ultimately declined criminal prosecution and did not file a formal disciplinary complaint, former Stanford officials said.

But before the next school year began, Wu was "de-selected" for a job as a dormitory resident assistant, a professor who would have supervised him said.

Current Stanford officials would not discuss what happened between Wu and the woman or the university's handling of the matter, citing university policy and student confidentiality laws.

"If these are the people IN CONGRESS..."

Too bad we can't have people like Jesus or maybe Mohammed or Buddha (you know, people who were so righteous they have religions based on them) running for office now huh? Fact of the matter my friend the problem now is not who is in office but what it is we can do about it. Used to be when a politician was caught doing something unethical or illegal or just plain sleazy they could be "dethroned" by people of substance or character. Now days the people of substance or character are just as likely to be unethical or sleazy i.e.. The "Reverend" Jesse Jackson or Jim Baker or Al Sharpton or Jimmy Swaggart or Muqtada al-Sadr or Ayatollah Khomeini.

Fact of the matter is is that if you want to put the fear of God or Allah or whomever you worship in politicians you are going to have to start displaying their severed heads on pikes for all their compatriots to see. Then you might get them to fear retribution for their stupidity. Until then you gotta live in the world you allow to exist.

I n Oregon's delegation to the U.S. House, Greg Walden has pull with the Republican leadership, Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer have expertise on key Northwest issues, and Darlene Hooley has a knack for serving her constituents.

Then there is David Wu. He is best-known for his rambling speaking style and for getting crosswise on trade issues with the high-tech industry, the dominant employer in the 1st District, which stretches from west Portland to Beaverton and Hillsboro to the coast.

We agree with Wu on many issues -- he's consistently supportive of public schools, environmental protections and a woman's right to choose. We've endorsed Wu's re-election twice before, though not with great enthusiasm. We've been waiting for someone to come along with the potential to be a more effective member of Congress and a better leader for Oregon.

Goli Ameri, a 48-year-old Republican and Iranian American immigrant, seems like that someone. Ameri is new to politics and public service, but she is intelligent, graceful and articulate. Unlike Wu, she seems to have a firm grasp on the trade and economic needs of the high-tech industry and the district. That's a significant matter at a time when arguably the most important duty for members of Congress is to look out for the economic interests of their districts.

Ameri is more conservative than Wu and the other Democrats whom independent-minded 1st District voters have sent to Congress for the past 32 years. She is a Bush Republican who supports the war in Iraq and the president's tax cuts. She also backs adding private personal savings accounts to Social Security and more broadly experimenting with school vouchers.

Ameri does, however, differ with the Bush administration on some significant issues. She supports stem-cell research and reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada, for example. She opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In many ways, Ameri reminds us of the candidate that Wu was six years ago. Both were foreign born, she in Iran, he in Taiwan; both won degrees at Stanford University; both settled in the district with their families and both sought election to Congress with no prior experience in public service.

The difference now is that Wu's had his chance to realize his potential and simply has not done so.

It's time for a change. Voters in the 1st District should send Republican Goli Ameri to Congress.

http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1097236932178610.xml

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