Craig must take responsibility for actions

Sen. Craig pleads guilty, doesn't seek council and when his recent arrest is later disclosed to the public, he adamantly announces, "I'm not gay." I'd agree he probably isn't gay, yet soliciting anonymous sex in a public restroom is classic sexual addiction behavior.

Denial, shame, rationalization and indignation also are common for most addicts before they fully accept responsibility for their addiction. The issue is not whether he is straight or gay, but rather is he willing to be a man and accept responsibility for, and do something about fixing, a problem that seems to have been troubling him for several decades.

Addicts often lie to themselves and believe that their behavior is only affecting them. But, we all know that alcoholism impacts much more than just the individual. It hurts the spouse, children, work performance and the rest of society. This is true of all addictions, as the obsessive thinking of "getting a fix," in Mr. Craig's case, a "quickie" in a restroom, is always a distraction from other more socially beneficial thoughts and actions.

His further flip-flopping — "I'm guilty, I'm not, I'm resigning, I'm fighting my guilty plea — is doing little for the state of Idaho. Please, Mr. Craig, for the sake of your constituents, be a man and take responsibility that you have a problem and seek help from one of the many appropriate treatment programs of 12-step groups that are available to all of us who are willing to admit we are not perfect.

CINDY AASE

Sagle