By Colbert I. King
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick have more in common than you might think. Hold those groans. How, you may ask, can these two men, separated by age, race, and ideological and social circumstances, be placed in the same camp?
Here goes:
Until they recently ran afoul of the law, both Craig and Vick were popular public figures with enthusiastic and loyal followers. Given a chance to come clean with the public about their illegal activities, both men chose instead to hunker down and not account for their actions. And, finally, disgraced and marginalized as Vick and Craig are at the moment, the worse days may be yet to come for both.
Of course, there are differences between the two men. Craig is a 27-year member of Congress, a father and grandfather, a rock-ribbed Western conservative, and an outspoken advocate of traditional family values. Vick is a professional football player who was raised in an East Coast public housing project and is unmarried. Their crimes are different, too.
Disorderly conduct, to which Craig pleaded guilty, is a misdemeanor. The senator's lawbreaking concerned allegedly soliciting gay sex in a Minneapolis airport men's room.
That's hardly the same as Vick's pleading guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy "to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture," which in his case means breeding and training dogs to tear each other to pieces for the enjoyment of gambling spectators.
Another difference: What Craig was doing -- or seeking to do -- in that airport restroom required the participation of another consenting adult.
Not so with Vick's operation. Dogs have no say in how they are used.
One other feature sets the two men apart: Vick doesn't pretend to have virtues that he really doesn't possess. Craig, on the other hand, is a raging hypocrite.
But when it comes to the practice of deceit, the two men are closer than two pages in a book.
Finding their private actions subjected to public disclosure, both abandoned the truth.
For instance, when evidence of illegal dogfighting was discovered last April on Vick's property in Virginia's Surry County, he could have owned up to his involvement. Instead he feigned ignorance, assumed the posture of an innocent victim and blamed the dogfighting operation on a cousin.
Craig was equally deceptive.
Instead of telling his family, Senate colleagues and his constituents about the arrest, Craig pretended that nothing had occurred. He also concealed his Aug. 1 guilty plea, which he had signed, dated and submitted by mail.
Idahoans would still be in the dark about the whole sordid mess had not the newspaper Roll Call been tipped off and on Monday published the story of Craig's case. As the Idaho Statesman said in an editorial calling for Craig's resignation, the senator lied "by omission" and violated the public trust by not disclosing his arrest until the story broke 77 days later.
Ironically, this week, both Vick and Craig publicly apologized for having embarrassed their supporters and their families. But consider what they said.
Craig asserted during a news conference in Idaho on Tuesday that in spite of his guilty plea he was not guilty. He said that he decided against fighting the charge because of "stress" caused by a "witch hunt" conducted by the Idaho Statesman, which was looking into rumors that he was gay.
Vick, for his part, described his years of pitting pit bull against pit bull as a "mistake" caused by his being "immature."
They still have a way to go before they can claim redemption. That's also why we haven't heard the last of them.
Craig is on a downward slide toward the end of his career, which could be announced as early as today. But he will leave behind a legacy of more than his House and Senate voting record. The story of Larry Craig and the Minneapolis airport restroom stall will be a major chapter in his political obituary.
Vick, over the long haul, will fare no better. To save himself, he's got to squeal.
Read his signed plea agreement with the government. The charge to which he pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail. The prosecution, however, recommended a sentence of 12 to 18 months. Why? Because in exchange for the more lenient sentence, Vick agreed to provide testimony and evidence against others in the illegal dogfighting business -- just as his three co-defendants agreed to rat him out.
Vick's plea agreement gives him no wiggle room. If he fails to cooperate to the government's satisfaction, the deal is off. That could lead to the prospect of Vick spending five years behind bars -- an outcome that would virtually kill his chances of returning to the football field.
In the weeks ahead, Larry Craig and Michael Vick will jointly occupy a space of shame and humiliation all their own. For that, both have themselves to thank.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.