ROMNEY CLAIMS NONE OF THE OTHER REPUBLICANS RUNNING FOR PREZ PASS THE SMELL TEST WHEN IT COMES TO CORRUPTION

"I know a hot tea room down the road apiece."

According to Bob Novak, Mitt Romney thinks he's best positioned to capitalize on his former Idaho campaign chair's bathroom escapades! He fired Senator Craig as soon as word of his toilet foibles leaked out earlier this week-- and followed it up by prohibiting his son, Josh, from even setting foot in Boise, apparently nervous he might end up being another of the Boys of Boise. Anyway, here's Novak:

The admitted improper behavior of Craig in an airport men's room stunned his Senate colleagues, but it provided an opening for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in his Republican presidential campaign to underline his theme of Washington being a pit of corruption. He is the only candidate, Romney says, totally free of the capital city's taint.

Flip Flop Mitt is certainly correct about the endemic corruption represented by Giuliani, McCain and Republican lobbyist Fred Thompson. Giuliani may be the most corrupt man to have ever been seriously considered for the White House by a major political party. But what about the rest of the pathetic pygmies™? Does Flip Flop know something about Huckabee, for example, that the rest of us don't? Or is this just more typical Romney take-no-prisoners lust for power, regardless of who or what (like Truth) he steps on?

Novak speculates that whether Senator Craig being caught with his pants down helps Romney or hurts him, it could be a great boon for Democrat Larry LaRocco. LaRocco's best chance of taking the senate seat next year in what is one of the reddest of states would be to run against the scandal-plagued incumbent. Insiders say that after Craig was caught in a toilet in Union Station in 1994 fellating a stranger he had decided to retire form politics next year. But the commotion over his latest sexcapades and his disappointment about how the Republicans have tossed him overboard so quickly and brutally is making him reconsider. Today Coleman and McCain, two complete sleazebuckets themselves, demanded Craig resign without further ado. He may run just to get even!

The revelation of Sen. Larry Craig's (R) arrest in an airport men's room under suspicion he was soliciting sex from a male plainclothes officer, and his subsequent guilty plea for disorderly conduct, have complicated the situation in this Senate race.

Craig had openly been mulling retirement, and the question now is whether he will resign early. Considering his defiant comments Monday night and Tuesday to the media and his reputation as stubborn, Idaho and Senate sources speculate Craig has no intention to fold easily. Party pressure could combine with unpleasant media attention to make Craig change his mind. In any event, he won't be the GOP Senate candidate in 2008 unless somehow he is able to show all the charges to be entirely false.

When a simple Craig retirement was on the table last week, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch (R) seemed the most likely Republican to step up for the 2008 campaign. He served well as acting governor last year, and is a skilled, well organized politician. His rising star might have been enough to crowd out other GOP contenders. However, even before Craig's arrest became news, well-connected Idaho Republicans sensed that Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (R) (a former Senator and former Governor) might want to return to his old job in the upper chamber.

If Craig resigns, Gov. Butch Otter (R) would get to appoint a replacement who would serve out the remainder of the 110th Congress. This could actually play to the advantage of Republicans, who would have the opportunity to put up a sitting Senator in 2008 rather than filling an open seat. This possibility boosts the speculation that Rep. Mike Simpson (R) might be the next Senator-- and also the GOP candidate in 2008. Simpson, always mentioned for the seat when Craig started talking retirement, had decided not to run as long as Risch was considering running. An appointment could eliminate a primary, thus thrusting Simpson back into consideration.

Meanwhile a new SUSA survey shows that most Idahoans know about the toilet incident and feel Craig should resign. His approval rating is now down at 34%, almost as low as George Bush's and heading in the direction of Dick Cheney's. (A majority of self-described "conservatives," still approve.) Floridians don't want to see all the fame their state was getting for gay bathroom sex by Republican lawmakers slip away to Idaho. So today's Palm Beach Post has an advice column about public bathroom etiquette. In denying that Craig is a homosexual and that he solicited the cop, his office described it as a "He said, he said." Be on guard, watch out:




UPDATE: REPUBLICAN BIGOTS FORCE SENATOR CRAIG TO GIVE UP COMMITTEE POSITIONS-- UNLIKE A CRIMINALS LIKE STEVENS AND VITTER

Crew's got the whole story but wonderers are wondering why McConnell is rushing around like a chicken without a head to make Larry Craig disappear when he never asked Ted Stevens (R-AK) to step down from any committees-- and Stevens actually used his committee positions to solicit millions of dollars in bribes. I never heard anything about Craig trying to play any potty games with any veterans or oil executives. And David Diapers Vitter (R-LA) already admitted he broke the law by hiring a prostitute. But he's still on his committees. What's with McConnell's double standard. What will happen early next year when the evidence on him is splashed all over the newspapers and TV screens-- I mean after he denies everything? Will he be forced to step down as Minority Leader?