I’m going to devote a few posts to the Larry Craig drama this morning, because it raises a variety of issues, some immediate and political, and others a bit more complex.

The immediate political question is what effect this will have on ’08 Senate politics. The 62-year-old Craig, who first won his Senate seat in 1984, is up for re-election next year. His retirement had been considered possible – mostly because of the increasing chatter about his sexual orientation and restroom conduct that preceded this week’s developments – and now it can be called certain. The real issue is whether he will stick it out through next year, or resign early.

There’s a chance that the Minnesota airport revelations will open the floodgates and similar reports of past conduct by Craig will come pouring through. That would surely hasten his exit. Then again, what’s already emerged might be enough. A story in today’s Idaho Statesman, which had been investigating Craig’s sexual activities for the previous five months, described how his wife’s eyes “reddened and filled with tears” as she sat with her husband in May when the Statesman played the tape of an interview with a man who claimed to have had sex with Craig. You can only imagine what she’s telling him to do today. There’s also the prospect of pressure from within the Republican Party, which would surely like Craig to leave the stage as soon as possible. (Indeed, Craig has already left Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, which tried in vain to hide this video of Craig endorsing Romney and his “family values.”)

(Various '08 scenarios after the break)   read more »