The tragedy of Bob McDonnell
When McDonnell exited a POLITICO event at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., he faced a bevy of local TV cameras with one goal: to keep McDonnell in the culture war battle that is driving Richmond.
It was the kind of moment that has many politicians scrambling for the exits and aides shouting, “No question!” But McDonnell looked pleased as he walked over to greet the throngs of press. “Did you come to ask about my education plan?” – he joked, then patiently and deftly brushed off the questions – “You don’t believe everything you hear in the national press” – giving the impression of a man enjoying himself. His smile and cocky manner seemed almost mocking, as if he were saying to the reporters, Come on, can’t you throw any harder than that?
McDonnell no longer gives the impression of a man enjoying himself while his wife, Maureen, faces 14 counts of federal corruption. But his bravura performance two years ago still resonates poignantly, showing a love of the game — and McDonnell’s undeniable skill — that for a time made McDonnell one of the most promising leaders in Republican politics.
As this moment reflects, it’s always been hard to define McDonnell’s persona—or even what made him tick behind his square jaw and perfectly coiffed hair. Now that McDonnell faces the very real possibility of ending his public life as a criminal, it’s harder than ever to answer the question: Who is Bob McDonnell?
When he ran for governor five years ago, Virginians got to know Bob McDonnell: a religious extremist who taught at Pat Robertson’s college, who Democrats warned would try to keep women at home and give criminals access to guns. The tags did not match. McDonnell easily won his gubernatorial race in 2009, avoiding social problems in office.
Next, Americans met McDonnell, the modern Mr. Republican: a brilliant politician of total integrity and boundless personal confidence, who more or less governed from the center, passed landmark transportation reform, and wrote the playbook for GOP swing state victories.
That wasn’t quite right either. At the end of his four-year term, McDonnell was caught up in a bribery investigation that was at least cheesy, if not criminal.
Finally, we meet the duper McDonnell: a well-intentioned, pure-hearted but poor man with the people around him, unsuspectingly led into dangerous legal territory by a scheming and ill-tempered Lady Macbeth Amex card.
The indictment filed Tuesday against the two McDonnells also belies that position. In a 43-page document filed in federal district court, prosecutors portray the former GOP governor as a man concerned about improving his family’s finances and going out of his way to accommodate his financial benefactor, Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams. directly and often with the former first lady about various money-making ventures.
