Man, this is a tough one for me.
The guy messed up two marriages, and had two daughters, to prove his masculinity and heterosexuality. He compromised his position by putting his male lover in a Homeland Security role for which he was probably unsuited. Said lover claims that their relationship was about power, control, and harassment. (Taken with a grain of salt, but still.) Numerous people in his administration indicted for corruption. He walks blithely away, meets an adorable Australian rich guy with a killer smile (who bears a passing resemblance to the lover who threw him over!), they move to a gorgeous house in the 'burbs, he gets a bestseller and an Advocate cover, and it's all Happily Ever After--aside from his shellshocked and betrayed wife, his administration left with a stain and in a shambles, etc. (Not to mention all the gay teenagers and people who wanted to get married that he screwed over to preserve his reputation.)
And yet, seeing him on Larry King more than "The View" or "Oprah" (though Rosie was incredibly kind and gracious to him on "The View," helping him fend off some of Elizabeth's sharper jabs), when he was openly weeping as he recounted his life up till this point, I felt an incrediible wave of tenderness towards him. I imagine growing up a nice Irish-Catholic boy in Jersey in the late sixties/early seventies must have been incredibly hard for him, especially as he seemed to suffer from the common gay man's syndrome of Best Little Boy In The World. I want nothing for him but peace and happiness and true love since he's been denied all of them for so long.
However, I will be monitoring him very carefully over the next several years, and seeing if his compassionate, contrite rhetoric actually matches his deeds--working on behalf of gay teens, AIDS sufferers, marriage rights, non-discrimination, etc. will go a long way towards repairing his image for me as a narcissist who screwed up almost everything he touched for his own gain. (After all, I bash George Bush for exhibiting the same qualities, but without the being-in-the-closet angle--although maybe you could compare McGreevy's coming out process to Bush's overcoming alcoholism and embracing religion, but that doesn't seem to have made him (Bush) any less of a lazy, smug, self-serving, incompetent jerkoff. The same standard will hold for McGreevy.) I don't plan on buying his book--he certainly doesn't seem to be hurting for money--but I would like to read it someday.
Ennis and Jack had their self-loathing issues and shock waves that reverberated through their families, but they were never in positions of authority and power. Unfairly or no, such people who ask for the reins of power are held to a different standard. (Quoth Cliff Robertson in "Spider-Man": "With great power comes great responsibility.") I hope McGreevy uses his newfound power and responsibility wisely.
