By Paul Chesser on 9.14.06 @ 12:06AM
Going on "Oprah" means never having to really be sorry.
Jim McGreevey must be relieved. Casting about for just the right
talk show to unveil the story of his spiritual journey to the
center of himself, he bypassed "The 700 Club" and went directly to
"The
Oprah Winfrey Show" without passing Go!, collecting $200, or
stopping at the John Fenwick Service Area for a sexual tryst.
Didn't even need a "Get Out of Jail Free" card to escape the
tormented prison of his soul.
No, all the former New Jersey governor needed was a place to
discuss his new book, The Confession. The Associated Press
reported Tuesday that McGreevey chose the Queen of Harpo
Productions "because of her sense of faith and spirituality..."
It's no surprise that after two failed marriages, years of
clandestine homosexual romps unknown to unsuspecting second wife
Dina, and two years removed from his "I am a gay American"
resignation speech, McGreevey wants to worship at the Church of
Oprah. They're a perfect match. He should expect nothing less than
absolution and congratulations for finally discovering his true
self and never having to change his ways after mouthing the words,
"I'm sorry." That's what McGreevey was forced to do in August 2004
after Golan Cipel, an Israeli citizen who served as the former
governor's homeland security aide, threatened to sue him for sexual
harassment.
"I am...here today because, shamefully, I engaged in an adult
consensual affair with another man, which violates my bonds of
matrimony," McGreevey said two years ago. "It was wrong. It was
foolish. It was inexcusable. And for this, I ask the forgiveness
and the grace of my wife."
Despite his stated contrition, the episode still didn't stop him
from continuing to violate his bonds of matrimony. But that doesn't
matter, because in the daytime television house of worship that
sells books, McGreevey's rehabilitation is complete: He stays the
same, cavorting with men, while simultaneously turning another
former spouse into a single mother and two daughters into ones with
a part-time daddy. I guess those casualties are a small price to
pay for personal fulfillment and gratification.
"He's a totally different person," said New Jersey state senator
Ray Lesniak, a McGreevey friend denying the obvious, in another AP story. "He is so much more
comfortable with who he is; you can see it in his body
language."
Shortly after his resignation announcement, according to the
report, McGreevey had "lean(ed) on friends, family, and faith as he
began a long and difficult process of reassembling his life as he
wanted it to be." With the transition complete, "that life is quite
full. His sprawling house is alive with pets and
parties...typically showcasing a guest list that combines a mix of
McGreevey's new gay friends, old political chums such as Lesniak,
and the former governor's parents."
It makes sense. Who wouldn't want to replace a wife and
child with menageries and menages? It's a rebuilt lifestyle
tailor-made for an offering to Oprah, where the mottos "Use Your
Life" and "Live Your Best Life" are trademarked and
copyrighted.
The Confession covers McGreevey's life as a false
heterosexual; his deception of two women to the point of conceiving
children with them; his corrupt administration and political
downfall; and his ultimate finding of himself in the embrace of an
Australian financial advisor (his partner, Mark O'Donnell). It
marks the image transformation of McGreevey from a man who ran
around trying to hide promiscuous sexual activity into one who
doesn't care any more who knows about it.
"They are two different people," Lesniak said of McGreevey as
governor, compared to the new, transformed McGreevey. "The first
person was very guarded and very concerned about how he was
perceived. He was driven to achieve and was somewhat uncomfortable.
The McGreevey I know now has accepted who he is and has shared that
with the rest of the world. He is comfortable with himself and
concerned about being authentic to himself and his beliefs."
So the exaltation of self-fulfillment reigns. Family concerns,
job responsibilities, and sacrificial behavior be damned. All come
and bow down at Oprah's altar and be affirmed in your
indulgence.
topics:
Trade, Television, Books, Israel, NATO
