Ah, yes. [Now former] New Jersey Governor James McGreevey's surprise resignation and public coming-out have topped news headlines since yesterday afternoon, a bit puzzling considering the magnitude and gravity of other events around the world. Perhaps the concurrent news from San Francisco, where thousands of gay couples recently suffered a legal setback when their marriage licenses were declared invalid, had some synergistic effect in boosting the McGreevey affair to the front pages.

What's troubling is that on the surface, most of the media is portraying the scandal as nothing more than an old-fashioned fall from grace for adultery, exacerbated by McGreevey's (shhhhhh) ho-mo-sexuality. Who would ever have thought? The truth is, as the New York Times stated in an op-ed piece this morning, being gay is probably the least of McGreevey's problems at this point.

Something struck me as fishy the moment I heard the breaking story. In most instances, a simple extramarital affair - or even "coming out" - are hardly sufficient sole cause for a remorseful public resignation from office these days. There had to be more to it, and it appears there is. Not only is McGreevey reportedly the subject of a forthcoming sexual harassment suit, the plaintiff is allegedly none other than the man he'd been having an affair with - the same man he'd appointed as his state homeland security adviser. Topping it all off, not only is McGreevey accused of appointing to public office a person with whom he was having affair - but he is also reportedly embroiled in longstanding financial scandals. The Times says,

The governor's announcement was reportedly driven by the threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former aide, Golan Cipel. Mr. McGreevey, who has two children from his two marriages and whose wife stood next to him during his press conference, acknowledged that he had committed adultery with another man. He did not say that the man in question had worked for his administration.

Gay or straight, that kind of relationship raises troubling questions, apart from the issue of whether it was consensual. Mr. Cipel was originally appointed as the governor's homeland security adviser, a job for which he had no discernable qualifications. If Mr. McGreevey put someone in that critical post because of a personal relationship, that would be an outrage, regardless of his sexual orientation.

Bad, bad move, Gov. McGreevey...that's probably one of the most unwise choices an employer or politician can make. Other media outlets are less cordial than the Times' measured take. The Times of India blares the headline "Gay Scandal Rocks U.S. Politics":

The scandal also brought sexual orientation issues to the political front burner on a day when the California Supreme Court voided a rash of same-sex marriages licensed by the San Francisco?s liberal mayor. Ironically, McGreevey had publicly opposed gay marriage, although he supported some of the nation's most liberal legislation, affording same-sex partners in New Jersey spousal benefits, including medical and legal rights.

McGreevey is not the first American politician to come out of the closet although he is the highest ranking. At least two serving US lawmakers are openly gay ? Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Arizona Republican Jim Kolbe. But McGreevey?s confession comes on the heels of several other scandals in a state known for its messy politics. One recent episode involved an Indian-American, Roger Chugh, a McGreevey fund-raiser who claimed the Governor had appointed him New Jersey's "Assistant Secretary of State" in 2002.

Chugh allegedly used the phony "appointment" to bully Indian-Americans into supporting McGreevey. But it was subsequently discovered that McGreevey had only appointed Chugh as an "assistant commissioner" and he had to give up even that post. McGreevey though took plenty of flak for even that appointment.

The Cipel appointment too stank from the beginning, according to local media accounts. There were rumours about McGreevey's affair with Cipel in local political circles and reporters who tried to find out what exactly Cipel did for the governor to draw a $ 110,000 salary often drew a blank.

"Rash," "bully," and "stank" don't generally come across as unbiased journalistic language - but this is India, after all, a country not generally known to look kindly upon gay and lesbian issues - and the paper completely misses the nuance that it's hardly sporting to lump openly gay politicians with those forced out of the closet in disgrace.

The overriding point I see here is that far too much is being made of McGreevey's being gay - but that's not the main issue here, despite the headlines. The Times details:

The cast of characters is long, and the details unsavory. They include a trash hauler and fund-raiser charged in a scheme to extort money from a farmer, and another fund-raiser who is accused of using a prostitute to try to silence a witness in a federal investigation. The governor, tape-recorded without his knowledge in a private meeting, was linked to one scandal when he uttered the word "Machiavelli," which prosecutors claimed was a code word. He has maintained that the use of the word was a coincidence.

In the murky politics surrounding him, being gay may be the least complicated issue Mr. McGreevey could address - and that may explain why he did not delve into the other troubles in his speech.

With LGBT issues at the forefront of American consciousness these days, too much is being made of McGreevey's sexuality and marital problems when what the media should be focusing on are his unethical actions in office.

If McGreevey's lover and accuser was a woman, you can be certain this story wouldn't have gathered a fraction of the attention it has to this point, in spite of the other juicy details. Sadly, this case feels like a unfortunate throwback to the bad old days in the closet, when gay people feared for their lives and reputations if their "secret" ever came out. However, it isn't the gayness that was the problem - it was the undeserved power held by those who knew the gay people's "secret" - the power to blackmail, extort, manipulate and coerce them under threat of being "outed". Remove the grasp of the secret, and that power vanishes.

It's far too late and irremediable now, but if James McGreevey had come to terms with his sexuality years ago, none of this might have happened. Too often the innermost lie to oneself seeds a complicated, insurmountable series of future deceptions. He might have still been involved in some messy, Machiavellian scandal, but he needn't have broken two families' hearts - and his own career aspirations in the process - by pretending to be someone he wasn't. That's the real tragedy here.

UPDATE: Traveling in Style gives a local take on the messiness, "It's a 7.5 On The Stink-O-Meter":

I'm having a hard time believing that he is resigning because he is gay. It's Jersey, fer cryin' out loud - we don't care. Perhaps he hasn't heard that Asbury Park is the new gay mecca? Say what you will about Jerseyites, we are not unsophisticated and gaydom - recent or not - is not a big deal. Something about this smells.

And by the way, I do not appreciate knowing that the only qualification necessary to be NJ's homeland security advisor after 9/11 was that you were the love of the gov and otherwise eminently unqualified, especially since I was toiling a mere 1/4 mile away from the post office distribution center that was heaviest hit with anthrax fatalities. I assumed at the time that the government was acting in my best interest to protect me, not to provide a high-paying postion and provide proximity for a love interest.

So why now? And if it was so vital that a full disclosure happen now for the sake of the state, then why is he hogging the office until November 15th? If you're going, then go now. Oh, but then, there's have to be a special election and NJ voters might actually choose a Republican for govenor. The magic words: Brent Schundler. [read full post]

I hear ya'. I'm an old Jersey gal myself...and I grew up about a mile away from the anthrax-stricken post office distribution center in Hamilton Township. It's all sad and stinky, I tell you, and it's not over yet.

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