Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell had just explained, with a heart-breaking letter and a sotto voce delivery, that his marriage was in shambles. He went on from there to describe how those personal woes sucked him into a public corruption case.
He testified that first lady Maureen McDonnell was seeking money, attention and maybe even affection from a charming, free-spending businessman. McDonnell told the jury he was in the dark about his wife’s affairs, both financial and (non-physically) romantic.
And so the first criminal case in history against a Virginia governor could come down to this: Does McDonnell, self-professed micromanager and 2012 vice presidential prospect, make a convincing chump?
“Maureen, I manage the finances,” McDonnell said he told his wife upon learning (belatedly, he claimed) that she had borrowed $50,000 from then-Star Scientific executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr.
Did he manage them or not?
I have been sucked into this political soap opera just like it is Dallas, back in “Who shot J. R.” days. I tune in after each day in court. It isn’t even that I dislike Bob McDonnell. I dislike some of the things he did–extremely dislike. (Gov. Ultra-sound) On the flipside, I also like some of the things he did, like just saying NO to Common Core. So this isn’t a matter of like or dislike. It’s a matter of just being incredulous.
