BREAKING NEWS: NJ Governor Resigns In Gayness

I know that many of you come here for the latest headlines, and this is it: James McGreevey, the 47-year-old Democratic governor of New Jersey, has just resigned over an extra-marital affair with another man. All I can say is, Wow. If I had known or cared who the governor of New Jersey was, I'd be shocked by this revelation. And if I lived in New Jersey, I'd be shocked I hadn't left yet. Certainly, no one saw this coming - except presumably, the governor's lover. This is guaranteed to shake up politics in "the Garden state" - though, really, when you think about it, any state with a nickname like that is just begging to have a gay governor.

What are the national implications? Politics being what it is, the Republicans will seize on this scandal to portray Democrats as the party of gay womanizers. That will tend to hurt the Kerry-Edwards ticket in the Bible Belt, where as you know, homosexuality and adultery are frowned upon by all but the most desperate of Tennessee Williams' characters. Still others will bemoan the fact that we don't live in a society progressive enough that a politician like McGreevey could openly cheat on his gay husband. But reaction from some of his gubernatorial colleagues has been surprisingly sympathetic. In California, Arnold Schwarzenegger said no politician should be forced to leave office over unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment, even if he is "a girly-man." Nice to see some bi-partisan comity for once.

There's obviously a lot more to be said here. But I'll leave that to someone who knows a lot more about New Jersey, state-level politics, and homosexuality than I do - which is to say, almost anyone.

Further updates as the gratuitously graphic and unpleasant details become available...