SuperDeluxe

Just broke on CNN like 10 minutes ago.

Wow..

and he announced with his wife at his side..

Enigma, I.C.

I feel really bad for everybody involved. It's a messed up situation. I'm sure this has caused the governor immense personal pain. I'm sure the person he had an affair with is in lots of pain. And I'm positive his family is in disbelief. He's certainly not a hero but I think he's probably already been punished enough.

Age-a-licious

I just heard that he's been married TWICE and has two kids. Wow.

Cherié £u£u

I just read this too online, and I knew he was married and had two kids. I'm from PA, and from what I've heard of him - he was a good governor but you can't blame him for resigning.

It's this part of the article that frightens me:
and....

Katis

Yikes. While it's unfortunate that he has to resign, after all if it were a woman he was having an affair with it would probably not come to this, I understand why. It's hard to do your job as Gov. when the only thing anyone is concentrating on is your personal life. That's the only thing anyone would ever associate with him.

I feel bad for his family, this is really going to cause a lot of turmoil, especially for his children if they are still in school. Not to mention his wife. It does take a lot of courage to do what he did though and I have to applaud him for that.

~*Nikki*~

If he had been having an affair with a woman, this would never be an issue. It's all because he's admitting he's gay. I personally don't believe that his sexual preference has anything to do with the way he does his work.

Nikki

AuburnGrad

This is about more than the governor's sexuality. His resignation comes in the midst of a sexual harrassment accusation, and if it weren't for that accusation, I would easily defend the man. Bill Clinton probably knows better than anyone that sexual harrassment charges can cause political conflict and familial hurt no matter if one is gay or straight. I'm not naive, however. I realize the governor's sexuality is an issue in the case, but it is not the only issue at hand. Since all of the facts have not been made public, I really am not sure how to comment.

ETA: I'm very confused by the news accounts so far, which goes back to what I was saying about not having all the facts yet.

Is the man making the sexual harrassment accusation the same man who was his 'lover'? That's what I'm getting by reading various reports on the story.

Eh, interesting drama regardless. I hate how it affects his family, though.

TheAngel

According to a lot of stories I've read and heard on the news, including an article in the local paper, this guy took the easy way out. Apparently his administration is involved in some heavy financial scandals as well as this sexual harassment thing which by the way, the guy is is (ex?) lover. Hey, whatever, I just feel sorry for the guys family. I mean he was married twice and seems kind of selfish that he'd do that to two women just to make his life easier. How are they going to be looked an now and his kids, this has to be humiliating for everyone involved.

Cherié £u£u

Well his supposed ex-lover is the one supposedly suing for sexual harrassment, McGreevy put this ex-lover (supposedly) as the head of Homeland Security of NJ..and he isn't an American citizen. That's also what a lot of people are pissed about too.

SuperDeluxe

Sure it would be a issue..senators/governers especially get blown up..

Maybe not as big..since this is a 'first'

any 'first' will get huge airplay.

idork

The issue here does not lie in his sexuality, nor even his affair. He promoted his boyfriend/lover/whatever to a six-figure job that he was not qualified for. I don't feel sorry for any of them one bit. It was a known fact inside their circle of friends that he was gay, his wife knew as well. What he does in his personal life is no one's business, but he is wasting tax dollars based on his own special interest.

mh67511

Why is he being an "extremely powerful" politician? Wasn't he just the governor of NJ? I can't remember him doing anything major that has effected me...

I would think the mayor of a big city like Chicago would be more powerful than the governor of NJ.

TheAngel

JERUSALEM (Aug. 15) - The Israeli man at the center of New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey's resignation over a gay affair said in an interview published Sunday that he is straight and had no idea initially that his former boss is a homosexual.

Golan Cipel told the Israeli daily newspaper Yediot Ahronot that McGreevey repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances. Cipel said he informed the governor at one point that he planned to sue him for sexual harassment, and lawyers were negotiating a settlement when McGreevey resigned last week.

''It doesn't bother me that it is said I am gay, but I really am not. I'm straight. On the other hand, to accuse me of being an extortionist? Someone here has lost his mind,'' Cipel was quoted as telling Yediot.

McGreevey, who is married, announced his resignation Thursday, acknowledging he is gay and had an affair with a man.

Sources within the McGreevey administration named Cipel as the lover and said he had demanded millions of dollars to stay quiet.

In a news conference Friday, Cipel's attorneys denied the claims, saying McGreevey's attorney offered to pay if Cipel did not file a lawsuit. Allen Lowy, one of Cipel's New York attorneys, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Sunday seeking comment.

Sources in McGreevey's administration said Saturday that Cipel originally demanded $50 million but the figure dropped to $5 million as negotiations progressed.

McGreevey appointed Cipel as New Jersey's $110,000-a-year homeland security adviser in 2002 without a background check or official announcement. The appointment was criticized, and Cipel was reassigned a few months later. He left government soon after.

The Israeli reporter, Yair Lapid, who interviewed Cipel for Yediot said the 35-year-old spoke rapidly throughout the interview and appeared frightened and emotional. Cipel is in New York.

Cipel said he wanted to forget about McGreevey after he left New Jersey and took a job in New York, but he said the governor continued to make unwanted contact.

''At first, it didn't occur to me that he was homosexual. The man looked happily married, he has children and his wife was very active in the campaign and election,'' Cipel said.

But on long nights of campaigning, Cipel said ''he hit on me over and over. I got to a point where I was afraid to stay with him alone.''

McGreevey spokesman Micah Rasmussen disputed that claim Sunday, saying, ''These are all false allegations by someone who's trying to exploit his relationship with the governor.''

Cipel was quoted as saying he identified with the ''feelings of victimization'' women feel when they are sexually harassed, and he felt trapped.

''It didn't occur to me that it could also happen to a man, and it certainly didn't occur to me that it could happen to me,'' Cipel was quoted as saying. ''Think about how scary it is when we are talking about a powerful man like the governor of the state of New Jersey.''

Cipel said his lawyers contacted McGreevey's attorneys and informed them that he planned to sue the governor. Negotiations on a settlement began, Cipel said.

''They made a few proposals, but before we answered them, he decided suddenly to resign,'' Cipel said, adding the governor was convinced they were about to file the lawsuit.

''He preferred to admit he was homosexual rather than stand opposite accusations of sexually harassing a subordinate. If you ask me, McGreevey resigned because he knew that the facts surrounding the harassment against me would come to light and he knew I could prove it,'' Cipel said.

Cipel said he would stay in New York to see the case through.

''I could have gotten on the first plane home, but I am staying here until justice is done,'' Cipel was quoted as saying.


AP-NY-08-15-04 2033EDT

peacecorps2006

Now I'm just a teen and I live in Louisiana, so I have never heard of him before his coming out, but I sort of respect him. It was brave for him to come out in front of millions of people. And he did it in a intelligent manner. I have no problem with gays, so I applaud him on being truthful to himself.

TheAngel

If he'd been truthful to himself he would have done it before harming all the people involved. Besides, in my opinion, with all this sexual harassment scandle and financial stuff, he took the easy way out so now everyone's focusing on the fact that he's gay and not that he totally screwed stuff up.