I agree with your make on this issue. Honesty in the beginning would have been the only saving grace. He would probably have been forgiven if he had shot the pope by admitting to it immediately. But, at this point, I don't know if it is going to happen. But you never know.

All the t.v. interviews I have seen all show him to be a nice guy and his constituents seem to like him and they are all talking about forgiving him.

Methinks that he would be forgiven of all things except the big one.... the hypocracy.