Somebody's lying

Well, shoot, I guess I could use that headline for virtually any story about politicians.

Sen. Larry Craig just came out swinging in his battle, I guess, with the Idaho Statesman, denying that he is gay, or ever has been. All of this, of course, comes about after his arrest in June at the MSP airport.

Craig says he made a mistake pleading guilty in the hope of making it go away. But the reporter for the Statesman (who apparently has been working on a story suggesting Craig is gay) says Craig went back to the airport later saying he needed contact information "for his attorney." Apparently, such an entry exists in the police log out at MSP. (Note: Tom Scheck says The Smoking Gun has the, ummm, smoking gun.)

But here's what's odd. In a "sting" operation, isn't the idea to get the stingee to actually commit some unmistakable crime or proposal? Tapping toes, moving feet, and putting your suitcase in the stall with you -- while odd -- isn't exactly unmistakable. I'm no cop, but if this was leading up to what the cop says it was leading up to, waiting another minute or two would've sealed it. Still, there's no situation that I can think of where a guy's foot should be touching the guy's foot in the next stall. Creepy, man. It's all creepy.

But let this be a lesson to you if you go to the bathroom at MSP: unplug your iPod first.

So, the statement is he pleaded guilty by mistake, which makes one wonder how smart a politician can a guy be who thinks that one makes scandal in Washington go away by admitting to it in court? And over the course of 6 weeks (from arrest to plea), the notion of maybe, kinda, possibly having a lawyer get involved (they can sometimes make things go away) never crossed his mind?

By the way, Craig has quit the Romney campaign as Senate co-chair.

There is some good news for Craig, however. The Daily Show is in reruns this week.

Nonetheless, Craig has now delivered a juicy story to the Washington press corps on what may be one of the slowest weeks of the year.

Well played, sir.

Craig said "I am not gay. I never have BenGay." Try as I might, I can't find any reference to ointments in the arrest report. Did I miss something?