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Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Discrepency, Disception or Just Plain Idiocy?

johngrubesic
johngrubesic,
originally uploaded by votergirl.
As a writer of headlines (with a tendency toward bad puns and random hip hop references), there is nothing I like more than reading the daily papers' headlines and pondering them (and occasionally making fun of them to my co-workers who, first thing in the morning, usually look as though they wish I would be a little less, um, loud).
So, here's how The Santa Fe New Mexican played its top story today:

"Grubesic admits discrepancy in statement"

Here's how The Journal North played it:

"Grubesic Admits Deception"

Now admitting a discrepancy and admitting deception are, in my little brain, quite different things. A discrepency is an inconsistency. Deception is duplicitous by nature—and pejorative for it implies nefariousness.
So what did John do?
Well, he apparently flipped his SUV and then lied to police about it when questioned and then later admitted he'd been driving but said he hadn't lied in the initial interview and, now admits he probably wasn't forthcoming because he got nervous, and put his lawyer and state senator hats on. He continues to maintain he wasn't drunk, although he'd had two drinks earlier in the evening. Just nervous.
One thing I still don't understand from the Journal Story is why Grubesic's wife was at the scene of the wreck but he wasn't.
I also don't understand, from the AP story carried by The New Mex, why the governor made a point of saying Grubesic shouldn't get special treatment. Like having Roman Maes read him his rights?
I have to admit I'm having a hard time getting too worked up about Grubesic's incident. I think it is, as he admits, more about stupidity than anything else, and at least he came back and said "hey, I was worried about my career, I panicked, I was an idiot, I'm going to make it up to people," (I'm paraphrasing) instead of some possible alternative stance in which he refused to admit wrongdoing or even his motives in wrongdoing.
After all, no one is really expecting (are they?) politicians to be perfect, just wishing, sometimes, they wouldn't all be such liars.
Then again, it's a tad early in Grubesic's career to have an overturned car in the middle of the night, false police statements and a public lambasting.
Shape up!