The media has had a heyday over Senator Larry Craig’s apparent solicitation of an undercover police officer this summer in a men’s restroom at the Minnesota-St. Paul International Airport. According to reports, the Senator made eye contact with the officer through a crack in the stall door, entered the next stall over, took a seat and tapped his foot, thereby making an overture. The officer then tapped his foot, the story goes, and the Senator has been tap dancing ever since.
An excellent article in the Sept. 17, 2007, issue of The New Yorker magazine recounts the ways Senator Craig and his team have contributed to what writer Hendrik Hertzberg calls a "comic bonanza":
"Their contributions include the Senator’s explanation for playing footsie with the cop in the neighboring stall (‘I have a wide stance’), his greeting to reporters at the press conference after the news broke (‘Thank you all very much for coming out’), his spokesman’s dismissal of the whole business (‘a he said/he said misunderstanding’), and the nickname of the Idaho governor, who will appoint a politically if not affectively identical Republican to take Craig’s place if he does not get around to quitting (C.L. ‘Butch’ Otter)."
The gaffes speak to two issues. First, there is an obvious need to choose words carefully before speaking to the media, especially in the midst of a controversy; and second, dancing around an issue is a performance in and of itself, a recital often worthy of more press — the kind that got you dancing in the first place. It’s better to be up front, transparent and sincere, so the press can report the story and move on as soon as possible.
As to the irony of a conservative senator with an anti-gay legislative track record being embroiled in a scandal like this one, and the ethical implications that follow, they’d be worthy of an entirely separate post with implications far beyond communications. No matter what course of action, however, that Senator Craig and his team decide upon moving forward, they’d best be advised, from a communications standpoint, to closely watch the movement of their mouths — and feet.
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