It would damage the town to hear it

Among the phenomena illustrated by Senator Larry Craig's bizarre defence of his actions in his Minneapolis airport cruising bust is the broader attitude of conservatives that legal procedures exist on a plane separate from any underlying actions. Whether it's Craig viewing his guilty plea as implying nothing about what he actually did, the "no underlying crime" chant that greeted Scooter Libby's conviction for lying under oath, or George Bush's claim that accusations of criminal conduct against his Attorney General are just "political theater" -- it's the same perspective that these are just mere processes that distract "good men" from serving their country.