The Humanity of Larry Craig

By now, almost all of you have probably read about Larry Craig's unfortunate misdeeds:

This incident was discussed by several, very intelligent panelists on "Meet the Press":

I was really struck by what James Carville had to say about the subject (4 minutes into the video), which is that Craig was completely hung out to dry...by everyone! By his friends, by his enemies...everyone.

To solicit sex with a stranger in a public restroom is a disgusting thing. To solicit gay sex in a public restroom is an act that is outright revolting to many right-wing conservatives and Christians. This explains, but does not condone, the words that have been spoken about Larry Craig since these accusations first came to light.

Larry Craig is, ultimately, a human. He has a family. He has served Idaho for the last 24-years of his life, but this is the single thing he will be remembered for. They won't remember how he fought for immigrants rights. They won't remember how he exposed Bill Clinton's arms shipments to Bosnia. They'll remember his wide stance, and how he tried to have gay sex in an airport bathroom with an undercover police officer.

His political career is basically over, despite his attempts at trying to resuscitate it. His wife and children have been disgraced. And at the end of the day, Larry Craig is just a human being like you and me. He's probably a little bit confused about himself (which is why he overcompensated his public image by being so politically anti-gay), but he feels shame, he feels guilt, he feels sorrow, he's a person, just like you and me.

Try to treat him like one.