Please Sit Down, Gary

Gary Hart, after attempting to tantalize the nation for a month about his political intentions, went on television Tuesday night to acknowledge something that millions of Americans already knew: He made a mistake. Coyness is not one of Hart’s strong character traits.

For those who somehow missed Hart’s attempted reentry to public life, the former Colorado senator and Democratic candidate for President told TV interviewer Ted Koppel that he would not run for President in 1988. This is a surprise that ranks right up there with the discovery that the Dodgers will not win the pennant this year. What Hart did not seem to know is that it was immaterial to the rest of the nation whether he would try to revive his candidacy. Had he tried, Hart would have been hooted off the stage, or ignored.

But now Hart says that he will seek to serve in an even higher capacity than President: as a patriot. Just what that means was not made clear in the interview, except that Hart wants a national forum in which to discuss issues, including the role of the media in investigating the private lives of public figures. Somehow Hart wants to make the leap from disgraced politician to statesman in a single bound.

In spite of his confession and professed contrition, Hart still does not seem to understand what all the fuss was about, and why many thoughtful political observers have been so disturbed for so long--long before Donna Rice--about Hart’s character and judgment. The most patriotic act that Hart can perform for the rest of this presidential campaign is to watch it from the sidelines--quietly.