His choices, it is safe to assume, are equally unpalatable.  Wage a legal battle to clear your name and fight to keep your Senate seat while the 24 hour news cycle broadcasts and publishes and blogs endlessly the lurid details of your men’s room arrest.  Or, go quietly.  Go home to Idaho.  Home to private life and let the salacious matter fade from the front page but live with the knowledge that everyone believes you did solicit sex from an undercover cop.

Which choice are you going to make, Senator Craig?  Which choice do your family and friends and staff want you to make?  There must be intense debate.  Should you fight to clear your name, save your political career and hold onto your Senate seat?

Meanwhile, the conventional wisdom is you’re doomed.  Your political career is over.  You can’t remain in the Senate.

Is that Senator Craig’s real goal?  What is the outcome he really wants or believes he can achieve?

It is an article of faith in public relations that Americans forgive and, if they don’t ever forget, they at least move on.  But what is required to earn that forgiveness is confession and contrition.

Senator Craig’s dilemma is that he cannot follow the typically prescribed public relations RX for reputation management precisely because he has asked the court to void what would be his first step toward rehabilitation; his signed confession.  And even if the court grants his request, will that satisfy the conservative Idaho voters who have sent Larry Craig to the Senate?   It is hard to imagine the Senator can continue his political career given the unequivocal get out now message he has received from his own party.

 Surely, Senator Craig is not so delusional he believes he can continue in Washington.

No. The reputation that he and his lawyers are trying desperately to preserve is not that of Senator Craig the public figure, but Larry Craig, the private citizen.  Larry Craig, the husband, father, member of his church, member of his community.  It is easy to imagine that Larry Craig and those closest to him want to be able to say it was all a big mistake and the judge agreed.  The judge knew an injustice and been done and allowed Larry to set the record straight.  Or failing to win a favorable ruling, at least Larry and family can argue that he fought hard to clear his name, he didn’t run and hide.  Larry can staunchly maintain he is not guilty and he is not gay.

Ultimately, the course Larry Craig is following will not restore his public image, but it may allow him to save private face.