'Virginia Way' Sounds a Lot Like 'Chicago Way'

By Clarence Page, Tribune Content Agency on Sep 5, 2014

But the blame-the-wife narrative crumbled in contradictions over how much of that largess was for the governor, including sweetheart loans and other contacts that the governor described as "routine" access to government.

So why didn't the governor take the plea deal? Having witnessed way too many other politicians whose rising stars flamed out in a stunning scandal, one word came to my mind: hubris, the belief that you're too clever and wonderful to have to care about the rules that other mortals do.

As a successful lawyer and politician who was on Mitt Romney's short list of vice-presidential hopefuls, McDonnell may have fallen prey to a common political pathology: the earnest belief that he could charm his way out of any mess.

It worked for President Bill Clinton, who could earnestly argue that "It depends on what your definition of 'is' is," and survive impeachment with his approval numbers on the rise.

But it did not work for eight other governors who were convicted in the past 15 years alone, including Illinois' Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was sentenced to 14 years in 2011 for trying to sell President Barack Obama's Senate seat.

Virginia traditionalists like to cite "the Virginia Way" as better than "the Chicago Way," a popular nickname for the politics in Obama's adopted home town. Virginia didn't have any governors indicted before McDonnell. But, as his case reveals, that's partly because they have some of the most lax ethics laws in the nation.

For example, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, it is one of just 10 states that allow officeholders or their relatives to take personal gifts of unlimited value. Even McDonnell promised ethics reform as a candidate then dropped the issue as governor. Is the Virginia Way all that much less corrupt or do they only have looser rules?

It is my hope that politicians nationwide take the McDonnells' convictions as a wake-up call: Voters may be getting even more fed up than usual with rule-bending politicians.

And those pols who impress voters with their charm on Election Day may face a much tougher challenge in the jury box.

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E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.