Just a few days after announcing his "intent to resign" as of September 30, Senator Wide Stance is now waffling, suggesting that, if he somehow manages to clear his name before then, he might decide to stick around. Now, I understand that Craig has been living in profound denial for years now, but what the hell is he thinking? As the senator himself defines it, clearing his name would require not only getting his guilty plea annulled but also surviving the ethics probe launched by his newly impropriety-obsessed Republican colleagues. The odds of achieving both goals within the next 25 days would be poor even if Craig's entire caucus weren't treating him like a cannibalistic serial killer. I understand the impulse to deny, deny, deny so at least people don't say, "Well, if he's innocent, why isn't he putting up a fight?" But then why not just maintain his innocence--fight the criminal charges even--but go ahead and resign "for the good of the party"? Then at least Republicans might relax enough about the fate of his seat to stop publicly trashing him. If Craig leaves, there will be no ethics investigation. But if he even thinks about staying, his miffed colleagues will plow ahead with the probe, resulting in a public parade of unsavory allegations to which Craig must respond in graphic detail. Does the senator really want to put his family through all that? If nothing else, Craig's sense of self-preservation should tell him not to antagonize his already revolted caucus. (A closeted men's room-cruiser in their midst!) With the party in turmoil, my guess is that, before allowing Craig to stay, Minority Leader McConnell would bribe one of his own staffers to claim that Craig had once fondled him in the Senate cloakroom. Desperate times... --Michelle Cottle