Matt Lauer's Larry Craig Interview: Exclusive and Excruciating

Oh gosh, Matt Lauer's interview with Senator Larry Craig and his wife Suzanne last night was uncomfortable to watch. Now I get what Lauer meant yesterday, how it must have felt to quiz Craig on the litany — the long, long litany — of gay-themed allegations (cruising, pickups, trysts) from throughout his political career and even from before, all while his wife was sitting there. Lauer did a good and deft job on this, and the Craigs candidly addressed it all head on, but the end result was the feeling of "no smoke without fire" and wow was there a lot of smoke. Not that there's anything wrong with that! The saddest part is how, if it's true (and if they're just rumors, well, there sure are a lot of them, from a lot of different sources), this guy has felt the overwhelming need to hide it and rail against it for his whole life. Here is a representative clip:

"I have a medical discharge based on my feet." Oh, Senator Craig, those feet.

Update: I'm going to have to disagree with Tom Shales, who criticized Lauer for being "anything but hard-hitting or confrontational." To my mind, that was precisely the right approach: Sympathetic, respectful, but persistent, putting each episode to Craig for his response, which created an overall effect of so many dominoes leading to that inevitable and sad moment in that airport bathroom. What Shales doesn't get is that Craig's had MONTHS of hard-hitting and confrontational — the cable shows, the late-night punchlines — the last thing that would have drawn him out would have been an antagonistic interviewer. When Lauer cited "cruising" and followed it with "whatever that means," Suzanne Craig laughed — breaking the tension of an uncomfortable moment and keeping it as comfortable, really, as it was ever gonna be. This interview didn't need to be hard-hitting; as I mention above, just the litany of episodes and innuendos, presented to Craig again and again, had a far more quietly damning effect.

(Hat tip to TVNewser, and thanks — I sort of love disagreeing with Tom Shales.)

Related:
Larry Craig To Matt Lauer: "You Know I Don't Just Walk Away From A Fight" (Except When I'm Quietly Pleading Guilty And Hoping It Will All Go Away) [ETP]

Comments

[speakyourmind]

It was painful to watch. I felt uncomfortable just watching it.

[souris]

...........it made you squirm........and it made you wonder......what is the psyche of a woman who would stand to be humiliated so publicly for this asshole?........were you that hard up for a "bread-winner" and father for you children [since the children ARE NOT HIS but some other man's] that you would endure sharing your life [and bed] with this hypocritical prick???...how sad, how, very very sad!!

[kilnwmn]

Her payoff must be really big!!

[pagangrandma]

Craig is wound so tight that when he finally snaps,he'll take out half of Idaho!

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

This is an allegory for the bankrupt ethics and cynicism of the present political scene. This case is a trek through a totally corrupt landscape.
Yes, I can see that the press would follow any wild goose to get a story that would up ratings even a scintilla.
Yes, it is totally credible that Craig is guilty; he is a closet gay, soliciting sex.
Yes, it is totally credible that local law enforcement, looking for a boost from the headlines, was over-eager.
Yes, this could be a tempest in teapot, but the GOP feels it must jetison Craig to deflect attention away from the campaign.
Yes, the Dems are passively fanning the flames to prolong attention and optimizing the damage to the GOP.
Net Result: The country loses....again.

[transendentilist]

How is the country losing by outing a blatant liar and hypocrite, that has no place in public office???? The man is a liar. He has lost the public trust, or I should say, he threw it away. One less lying pig at the public trough, would be a plus, not a minus. He said he would quit the Senate, he said he was guilty. That's it, no room for ifs ands and buts. A judge rejected his request to change his plea.
I am glad they put cops in public men's rooms. I don't want my son to have to deal with some old fart pervert, everytime he has to take a dump.

[Fintoozler]

A good point and a good, close shave!
Hate and antagonism for all!
Justice for those who can afford it!

[LeftLeanWing]

I disagree that the Dems are fanning any flames. This thing is a firestorm all on its own and Larry Craig himself is keeps adding the fuel.

[gallstones]

Right, he could have just resigned 09.30 like he said he would. That would end the "tempest". I think he likes the attention.

[BWonka]

The Dems are doing nothing about this - Craig made the decision to stay in the Senate, much to every ReTHUGlican's displeasure. Now he is going on every show he can to tell his tall tales and deny, deny, deny.

The Dems don't have to do anything - Craig is doing his best to keep this in the news all by himself.

[NYC07]

Wasn't it his Republican buddies who said they wanted to have an Ethics Committee investigation of his behavior??

[Lisette]

Matt Laurer---------why are you giving this pervert air time???

Do not want to know more-----it is too sickening!

[transendentilist]

Think of it as manna from heaven! Keep it up Matt. People need to get a close look at who is representing them in DC.

[gallstones]

Unfortunately Idahoans are ontent with Larry Craig representing them. They think he's an OK guy.

[SiskoKid]

This interview was PAINFUL! I had no idea about all those past super gay events.

That idiot.

I thought Matt Lauer did a good job. At first I thought he was going easy on Craig, but he kept bringing up one gay situation after another. It was really really painful.

I DO wish Matt Lauer had asked Craig why he would cross the expanse of the whole airport, bypassing 4 bathrooms on the way, to use that one specific bathroom. Well, the answer is because that's the bathroom all those nasty things would take place.

Also, Matt Lauer and everyone else has to stop using "gay lifestyle". Being gay doesn't mean you have a specific lifestyle. Being gay almost CERTAINLY doesn't mean you know how to fuck in a public bathroom. I would know, I'm gay. Ask a super majority of gay men, and they'd be just as surprised as you to see how elaborate having sex in a bathroom stall is.

These shenanigans take place between CLOSETED HOMOSEXUALS because they can't openly be seen with other people in public. And they tend to be MARRIED CLOSETED HOMOSEXUALS. Out gay people or even closeted gay people who don't have to keep up hetero appearances or have public lives, tend to use things like the internet to hook up with people, not kneel on a NASTY public bathroom floor for some "fun".

I think we need to separate those two situations and FAST.

[LeftLeanWing]

You are absolutely correct.

[JessWonderin]

EXACTLY!!! Open acceptance leads to safer lifestyles for all. Would you really want your husband or wife boinking strangers in a public shit house . . . for FREE!!!!!

Beside Cleopatra has a LONG history of "Gray behavior" . . .

[gallstones]

Excellent point.
Probably have to be brought up again and again though.

[RaderBarbarian]

Yep, it MUST be brought up again and again! Larry Craig is NOT GAY! Larry Craig may be a HOMOSEXUAL, but he is NOT GAY! Those words do not necessary mean the same thing. Gay people do not behave like Larry Craig does.

I used to be the manager of a shelter for homeless teens. These were mainly abandoned children - not runaways - and mostly they were boys around the age of 14 or 15 who SURVIVED by turning tricks with men in a public park. Who were those men picking up these boys?

Well, we saw them on a day-to-day basis. A huge number of them had baby car-seats in the back of their vehicles. You see, their wives were pregnant or were caring for infants, and were not interested in having sex. These men weren't "getting any" at home so they went to where they could get some - without complications. Why would a man choose a young boy instead of a woman, a prostitute even? Well, even with a female prostitute, you must "make nice" a little before she will cooperate. With a young boy, you need do nothing but hand over the money. Very uncomplicated.

Remember this joke, why does a dog lick his balls? Because he can!

What Larry Craig did is NOT A GAY THING TO DO AT ALL! It had everything to do with being STRAIGHT and not getting laid - for whatever reason, maybe just because you are fundamentally inhibited because of your religious beliefs!

Them's the facts, folks, as I see it! Deal with it however you choose.

[Steamboater]

Notice all the pics of the kids and the family. LOL Craig is such a heterosexual.

[transendentilist]

So, that proves what? How many did he actually father? How does putting up the normal facade make him any less of a pervert? THE MAN PLEAD GULITY! END OF STORY!! You can't spin this one.

[BWonka]

You mean his ADOPTED children.

[jinjinpinti]

Craig should be the poster boy for the entire GOP....it's all there, all of the hypocrisy, all of the denial, all of the lies.

[wmbear]

GOOD POST...

Hypocrisy, denial, lies, yup. That neatly sums up the Republican party -- oh, but you left out "dirty tricks." (Speaking of soliciting sex in men's rooms....)

[RegularFolk]

You mean like Democratic governor Jim McGreevey.

[transendentilist]

How many is this now, three, or four? Let's see, Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, Craig, and that sick motherfucker from Florida who wanted to have sex with a FIVE YEAR OLD!!

[gallstones]

Didn't he commit suicide?
Shot himself as the troopers were knocking on his door, that guy?

[hardlyhikin]

And why stop there? Let's go back the 40 years the Repugnants have been in power (during most of our lifetimes). Let's see: there was Spiro Agnew, Tricky Dick's VP, who left office disgraced, and of course there was his boss, Nixon, who would've been not only impeached but convicted over Watergate. There was the whole Iran-Contragate episode with God knows how many convictions and who knows how many guilty one's that got away without getting caught. There's Tom DeLay, Jerry (?) Cunningham, half the Republican Congressional delegation from Ohio, half the Republican Congressional delegation from California is under investigation, I think the entire Republican Congressional delegation from Alaska is under investigation. There's the guy who was supposed to replace Delay but had to step down beause he had ghosts in his closet. There's Senator Vitter (?) from Louisiana who has a habit of boinking l'il ho's down in LA. And of course, there's the whole Bush gang. This is the crew that was going to bring dignity back to the White House and the nation? It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

[ColoradoDan]

Talk about a Stepford Wife ... giggling like a mindless mental patient. This lady/wife is dumb, dumb, dumb! All she sees is the meal ticket and has sold any integrity long ago. Very weird but I suppose more common than we know.

Craig is plain evil. Skilled liar. Sets the standard as an ideal GOP politican of today. Watching the interview convinced me that he is slimier and much more deceptive than reported earlier. But Idaho's seem to love the gay ... er ... guy.

A history of coming onto men and nothing wrong with that. It is the hypocrisy, denial and self-hate that is sick. No wonder America is so damned screwed up ... look what we elect over and over.

[Ihaveadream]

Larry should have come out and sung his song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIiL4pmx--0

[fisharefreinds]

"Based on my feet, they are stuck to my mouth!"

[rras]

Yea, how about putting some words to " I don't have a square to share".

[wmbear]

HERE'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE LAUER ASK...

"Senator, can you demonstrate for us exactly what happened in that airport men's room that day?"....

[batmanindy]

YUCK!!!

This guy is a US Senator and he is a lying, dispicable person. But that was redundant, wasn't it!

[993rick]

What I have never figured out is whether Craig was supposed to be the sucker or the suckee. This matters because some people only consider it homosexual if you are the sucker. Apparently, just like on the Sopranos, Pauly was most shocked that Vito was sucker but could forgiven it, if he was the suckee. I bet Craig wanted to be the one doing the sucking because this hypocrite sure sucks!

[dictatortot]

Is Senator Craig more gay, or more arrogant? He has a smirk to rival Cheney's, and a pompous voice to rival Limbaugh's. What a combo--Cheney's smirk and Limbaugh's voice, plus a hefty dose of hypocrisy, self-denial, and self-loathing.

The GOP should be ashamed of Craig; gays should be downright mortified.

http://www.newsprism.com

[wmbear]

THE PRECISE TERM FOR CRAIG'S TONE OF VOICE IS "UNCTIOUS"...

unctious: "characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic fervor; excessively smooth, suave, or smug"....

(Actually, I DON'T much see any resemblance between Craig and Limbaugh. Limbaugh's style is bullying, in-your-face, loud. Craig tries to sound too smooth and calm, like a preacher who's in the right and can't understand what all the fuss is about....)

[BalancedEgg]

The term "cruising" has been in the gay venacular since the 60's and entered the popular culture as the title of an Al Pacino film about guess what...the "sleazy gay underworld of NYC" in 1980. Any adult over 40 claiming to not be familiar or understand the term is being disingenuous at best. Within the gay male community of Lauer's and Craig's contemporaries, it is a very common term and has no inherent negative connotation. It is simply part of the "dance of attraction" that is practiced throughout all of humanity-eye contact, physical proximity, flirting...get the point? Me thinks there may be more closets in this interview than the one from Idaho. Makes the whole charade even more creepy but then again, it is almost Halloween. BOO!

[workingboy]

any contemporary of Lauer/Craig who doesn't know the meaning of "cruising" is either lying or brain dead. think they recently issued the Pacino film on DVD. (OMG! wish Rosie had interviewed Craig.) the boys at South Park have given "couric" an operative definition, they must do the same for "lauer"! lauer could replace the word cruise. e.g. did you see the way he lauer-ed me? one who lauers like that is hot!

we have a new word!
AND YESTERDAY WAS DICTIONARY (NO PUN INTENDED)DAY!

[ReadALot]

Senator Craig's wife Suzanne was a divorced woman with three children in need of a bread winner. Craig was under fire during a Page scandal in 1982 and needed a "beard." Enough said.

Craig is seriously impaired and embedded in mendacity and self-denial. There's no hope for him.

[ming099]

....OK....I know I'm old and a little slow but what does the reference to 'beard, mean.....?....somebody help me out here....

[Janco54]

Someone to hide their true selves behind.

[helmboy]

beard: the woman a gay man consorts with the throw off suspicion.

[ProfessorVP]

"Beard" is not a new term, it's been around for decades. At one time, it meant anybody who covers up for someone. For example, if John Doe was secretly seeing a married woman, he could openly date another woman publicly. She would be his "beard." But the word has evolved to take on an exclusively gay cover-up meaning. Suzanne Craig has been Larry's beard for decades. Once people realize they've been deceived, however, the beard loses all value.

[Techboy308]

A "beard" is a member of the opposite sex used to disguise the fact that a person is gay. For instance, Rock Hudson was "married" to a woman so no one would think this masculine Hollywood star was gay. His wife was his "beard".

[rras]

n attorney who formerly led a Michigan young Republican organization has pleaded guilty in Cleveland to sexual battery. The case against 32-year-old Michael Flory of Jackson, Michigan, involved forced sex acts on a woman while both were at a Cleveland convention last July. Flory faces one to five years in prison or probation.
Flory can add his name to the following list from
" so many perverts..."

* Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.
* Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
* Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
* Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor. we’re just getting started, kids.
* Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted rape of a juvenile.
* Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.
THIS LIST IS ALMOST ENDLESS AND TELLS THE STORY.

[wmbear]

THERE'S ACTUALLY A WEB SITE...

The lists ALL the Republican scandals for 2007. (I don't have the link handy -- just Google it.)

[BalancedEgg]

It's beginning to sound like the roll call for the priests in the catholic church. The more you repress sexuality, the more deviant it becomes. Dr. Phil, the republican party needs you now more than ever.

[Clarabell]

If these circumstances surrounding his marriage are true, that explains a lot, and why she seems so nonchalant about the whole thing. But can you imagine what would be going on in the media if he were a Democrat? If he can hang on a little while longer, he may just survive this whole thing --I still think he's got something on somebody else or he wouldn't still be hanging around. He's certainly got guts!

[ming099]

...I think Lauer handled it well.......he fed Craig plenty of softballs ...yes...and during the answers we all got to see just how BIG a liar and how deceptive he (Craig) is and how deeply in denial both he and the Mrs. are........you cant just go in with a meat ax and start swinging.....you have to finess the subject and that is what Lauer did.....fed him fluff and let him LIE.........

[LeftLeanWing]

I think having Suzanne sitting there actually made it more uncomfortable for Matt. Why was she there anyway? It's not like she was in the bathroom stall with him assisting in this penile adventure.

I'm sure some PR person instructed him to "keep your wife at your side as much as possible to dampen other's reaction. Wear DEPENDS instead of going to the bathroom". C'mon she looks like Aunt Bea with makeup and without the hairbun and apron. Now who would want to make Aunt Bea cry on TV?

[Qbear]

Larry Craig = G O P-ocricy poster boy

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/CraigRomney.jpg

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-8/1210139/FlushMitt.jpg

and he'll take his whole party down with him.

[JoeBlough]

Doesn't Craig have, like, a job to do? If he's going to spend all of his time in the Senate trying to convince people he's not gay, then he wasteing our tax dollars.

[wmbear]

GIVEN CRAIG'S RECORD IN THE SENATE...

He always WAS wasting our tax dollars....

[jarotra]

This is the good part about being faith based. Being gay becomes a choice. Reality is subjective, so you are entitled to your own facts. Deny, deny, deny. Though your crippled soul withers with each lie, the facade becomes ever stronger. No amount of fact based thinking can change your (pardon me) stance.

Authority is paramount. I am not gay because I say I am not gay. To support my construct, I must vote against "them".

This is how the game is played. Feeling must be sublimated for the dark times, hidden and nasty, those times when you feel the irresistable urge to "go republican". Then it is back to respectable wifey and kiddies.

That said, I wonder how long before Larry Craig decides to enjoy retirement and ditches the wife so he can host a LGBT Charity Rodeo.

[jinjinpinti]

Jarota: Nicely said (written) comment and so true. Thanks.

[Bliss]

Just to clarify: BEING gay is never a choice. You are who you are, you feel what you feel. The choice is whether to lie about it or not. BEING TRUE to being gay is a choice.

[midwestgayguy]

I'll second that. Having lived the experience myself. I didn't choose it. I tried to hide it. Its much better from a mental health standpoint to just be open. That doesn't mean you have to flaunt it. It just means that if someone asks, you say "yeah, I am". Just as Mr. Craig should do. I've met plenty of men like him. Including a few priests and even psychiatrists who worked to "cure" gay men. Oh brother. They are the sickest of the sick.

[helmboy]

also, if gay is a 'choice' then the admonition that God made all people in His image doesn't apply. If God didn't make them, you can criticise them without fear of criticising God. Hypocrites. God made us all in His/Her image for a reason: He loves us just the way we are.

[wmbear]

MAYBE THEY CAN CALL IT "BROKEGOVERNMENT MOUNTAIN"...

Or some such....