Larry Craig's tap shoes.

In June 2007, Senator Larry Craig was arrested for suggesting to an under cover police officer for disorderly conduct. The officer stated that Craig had peeked through the bathroom stall and tapped his foot to suggest that he wanted to engage in “lewd conduct.” When he was charged he signed a guilty plea and later attempt to reverse it.

From a public relations standpoint, it was too late. The damage had been done. Once he pled guilty it changed the way that the public—and the senate—perceived the situation. I would explain that removing the guilty plea would solely be for legal purposes, and that if he did remove the plea he would be going back on his word. He would seem wishy-washy and the public would assume that he was a liar. You can’t plead guilty and then take it back without the public assuming that you were guilty in the first place. 

I do understand that there are reasons why someone might plead guilty even if they weren’t, but a Senator should know better.

I believe that Craig should have considered the repercussions far before pleading guilty. But after he had pled guilty I would have advised that he move onto the case and get it over with as quickly as possible, to minimize the time that his name spent in the headlines.

If I was Craig’s lawyer however, I would have advised a completely different plan. If Craig was solely considering this from a legal standpoint, it would be better to go ahead and plead not guilty and give the jury and judge the ability to decide.

I believe than the mistake that was made here was the guilty plea. If he could have avoided this then the sex sting might not have been so harsh and the appeal wouldn’t have made Craig look as indecisive. All around, I think the best decision for him would have been to go the way that he had been going in the beginning. When he announced plans to resign in September and not finish his third term.  Regardless of sexual orientation, the unsolicited conduct that occurred in an airport bathroom was not the sort for any senator. And the right thing to do, to earn the most respect, would be to have backed down and admitted wrong doing.