As Saletan see's it, the fact that Larry Craig solicited homosexual sex in a public bathroom while having previously supported the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy makes him a hypocrite. But it doesn't (at least not if you let let logic rather than emotion settle the issue).

Saletan's so-called reasoning is summarized by his opening paragraph:


If Larry Craig were held to the standard of sexual conduct he imposes on the U.S. armed forces, he'd be out of his job.

And if Larry Craig actually argued that Senators should be held to that same standard, then he would, indeed, be a hypocrite. But Craig did not do that, and neither has anyone else.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy is a policy that is applied to the military. It doesn't apply to plumbers, doctors, professors or senators. As such, gay plumbers, doctors, professors and senators who believe that the policy makes sense for today's military are not being hypocritical.

Even if you, yourself, believe that there is no reason why that policy should applied to the military if it isn't also applied to plumbers, it still doesn't make Craig a hypocrite. He believes that the policy should be selectively applied to the military. He's also not a hypocrite for his opposition to gay marriage. If you are gay, and if you think it's OK to have gay sex in filthy public bathroom stalls, your are not logically required to support gay marriage (or to oppose "don't ask, don't tell" for the military).

The logic is here is elementary, not complex. Craig could be described as a hypocrite if he has come out strongly against (a) cheating on your spouse (he is guilty of that) or (b) gay sex in public bathrooms (he is guilty of trying to do that). Saletan is smart enough to understand that. Larry Craig is guilty of stupidity (e.g., lying to a police officer) and immorality (e.g., attempting to be unfaithful to his wife), but not hypocrisy.

I think anytime you want to apply a standard of contact on others that you are not willing to apply to yourself, you become a hypocrite. this is clearly the point. And yes, Craig is guilty of cheating, soliciting sex, and monumental stupidity. As to the morality thing, all of these things prove him to be amoral.

Saletan's opening paragraph, which you cite, is entirely correct. The hypocrisy arises from pushing one standard of conduct onto the military, a standard many of us feel is itself hypocritical (being gay isn't forbidden, only admitting to it), while failing to live up to such a standard himself. If solicitation is wrong for the military, and illegal, how is it right for Senators (or plumbers, or whomever) to engage in?

THe overall anti-gay tone of Craig's voting record in Congress, stacked up against secret gay behavior on his own, is itself enough to convict him of hypocrisy, though, IMO. ANything else is mere quibbling.

Unless Craig can come up with a logical argument why gay sex shouldn't be allowed in the military, as opposed to in public restrooms, then yes he's a hypocrite.