My must read of the day is "Trey Radel — from lawmaker to lawbreaker" in the Washington Post:
There the first-term Republican congressman stood Wednesday morning, his shoulders hunched, his hands clasped in front of him, awaiting his sentence from Judge Robert Tignor for cocaine possession. He was just a few blocks from the marble corridors of power but a world away, in a windowless room with threadbare carpet, frayed brown fabric on the walls and some stained acoustic ceiling tiles.
"Your Honor, I apologize for what I’ve done," Radel said. "In life, I’ve hit a bottom where I realize I need help. ... I am so sorry to be here. I know I let my constituents down, my country down and most importantly my family, my wife and my 2-year-old, who doesn’t know it yet."
But Radel’s actions suggest that he was mostly sorry he got caught — and that the 37-year-old self-described "hip-hop conservative" was trying to make the embarrassment go away as quickly as possible. His statement late Tuesday suggested that he made a one-time mistake: "I struggle with the disease of alcoholism, and this led to an extremely irresponsible choice." Before Radel entered his guilty plea, however, the prosecutor described how the defendant had on several occasions purchased, possessed, and used cocaine.
I feel like I should be angrier about this scandal than I actually am. Maybe the Rob Ford debacle has made me somewhat apathetic, or at least inclined to think Radel’s handling it as well as he can.
Of course, Radel deserves what he’s getting.
Dana Milbank griped that Radel "acted … as though the most important thing were his job, not his recovery." But what else could he have done?
It was a public apology. The thirty journalists and ten television cameras outside made it a different forum than a private court/rehabilitation session. Radel had to address the situation as a lawmaker.
Radel was arrested a month ago and is only now seeking treatment or apologizing. But in a world of Anthony Weiner, it’s a big deal to accept responsibility for your mistakes.