Jim McGreevey as gay American hero.

It was encouraging and heartening, however, that my fellow New Jerseyans — even while reeling from the shock of it all — were able to separate the issue of McGreevey's sexual orientation from the political and practical realities that compelled our governor's resignation.

But the tolerance and sympathy expressed by McGreevey's constituents is a relatively new cultural development. The governor grew up and charted his career in a world in which being true to his sexual identity and fulfilling his professional ambitions were largely mutually exclusive goals. One can imagine the pain and suffering that could have been spared had that not been the case.

Let us not mention the torment he has done to his two daughters, his two ex-wives and the constituents of New Jersey. Next we'll learn the Democrats have a former KKK member in its ranks. Oh, wait.