The gay governor of New Jersey

What a mess. New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, married to a woman and a father of two, announced that he will resign from office under a cloud of scandal.

Not only did McGreevey face political heat from alleged illegal fund-raising by supporters and staff members, but now this bombshell: he cheated on his wife. But that's not all. He had the affair with another man. And it appears that man was threatening McGreevey with a public lawsuit or blackmail. If that wasn't enough, here's another kicker.

The man whom McGreevey may have had the affair with was a high level "consultant" whom the state paid a salary of over $100,000 a year for advising on homeland security issues. That was controversial in and of itself because the consultant, a 33-year old Israeli-born citizen, couldn't even get security clearance!

It is unfortunate if the media's take home message from this story is: if you are gay, you cannot serve as governor. McGreevey, for what it's worth, said explicitly that being gay had nothing to do with serving as governor. The implication was the US is ready for a gay governor. But the extra-marital affair--plus the added drama of the affair being with another man who was already under political scrutiny--would be too distracting for the governor's office to continue under McGreevey's leadership.

Okay, so McGreevey resigned because of the affair.

Boy, what a drama queen. You wouldn't have been able to write it better in Hollywood movie.

Illinois: Keyes v. Obama

The Senate race in Illinois has taken a startling turn with the Republicans putting up Alan Keyes as their guy. (GOP leader Dennis Hastert denies being involved in the selection of an out-of-state Black candidate to go up against the popular Barak Obama. Hastert claims he was "out of town" when that decision was made).

Keyes is a self-described conservative. He ran and lost--twice--for Senate in his state of Maryland and for the presidential nomination. Now he's moving to Illinois to see if he can win there. Even after he criticized Hillary Clinton for moving to New York to run for Senate in 2000. Despite the appearance of hypocrisy, Keyes says that he's not running for personal ambition like Hillary.

Today, Keyes accused Obama, who is also black, of taking a "slaveholder's position" regarding abortion. Keyes' simplified argument is that because Obama voted for allowing abortions in the state of Illinois, Obama defies the Declaration of Independence because he doesn't give any value to the inalienable rights of the fetus.

Obama replied (as quoted by USA Today), Keyes "should look to members of his own party to see if that's appropriate if he's going to use that kind of language."

The irony of Obama's reply is that he subtly jabs Keyes for being mastered by Republican leaders. Whether intended or not, Obama's response was politically brilliant. He has time and again taken the high road in lieu of mud-slinging. He welcomed Keyes to the race and asked him to make the contest issue-oriented, not based on personal attacks.

What's clear in this: Keyes will attack Obama much like he has done on Day 1 of the campaign when he implied Obama a slave for supporting a woman's right to choose. Meanwhile, Keyes undoubtedly has been called an Uncle Tom for his positions and willingness to do the Republicans' bidding as a token black candidate.

But beyond the potential for ugliness in politics with Keyes levying insults and making personal attacks, there is some good to come of this.

By putting ultra-conservative, out-of-the-mainstream Keyes into the race, Illinois will elect Barack Obama to the US Senate in November.