Where is our leaders' moral compass?

Where is the moral compass for our leaders in this country?

We were thunderstruck Monday afternoon at the Bee when we received word that Sen. Larry Craig had pled guilty earlier this month to a charge of disorderly conduct after he was arrested in June at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men's public bathroom.

Even though he pled guilty, Craig's staff sent out a press release that stated: "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving his matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

The police report is very damning — and embarrassing — to everyone associated with Craig.

Craig also was the focus of a fundraising dinner in Coeur d'Alene just two weeks ago. He was contemplating re-election this fall.

He was charged in June.

It would be our hope that Idaho's senior senator, the fifth-highest ranking senator, would come clean with a state that has overwhelmingly supported him in the past.

Nobody is perfect. Idahoans understand that.

We deserve some straight answers from our senator and need more than "I should not have pled guilty."

This space in the Bee is reserved for a straight-forward explanation … or an apology from Sen. Craig.

David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.