This was a good week for marveling at the weird arc of self-destruction, hope, and redemption that characterizes so many public lives in America. It always begins with outsize success and fame, followed by a swift tumble from grace, like that of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (see The U.S. at a glance), who posted crotch shots of himself on Twitter, and of former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, of “Appalachian Trail” fame, who got caught in an extramarital affair (see Talking points). The latest to fall is Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice (see Talking points), who was done in not by some private vice, but by a public glimpse of how low he’d stoop to achieve what he was hired to do: create a winning basketball team.
So is Rice destined for permanent exile from public life? Nope. He’ll just have to follow the well-worn path to redemption, which begins with an apology and tears of remorse. Look at Weiner; his comeback interview with The New York Times Magazine was so self-flagellating that the reporter asked him to please cut it out. Weiner is so sorry because he wants to run for mayor of New York, and he knows he’s got to clear a mountain of shame first. Sanford received a measure of redemption already, winning a Republican primary for Congress, with his Argentinian fiancée at his side. Whether either of them wins in the end will depend less on the character flaws everyone has seen than on how they spin a new story—and on the public’s propensity to forget, and maybe forgive. So put your head down and take some anger management classes, Coach Rice. A community college team somewhere awaits you.
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