Dann Sad Story

We are at the intersection of bad news and worst news when it comes to living in Dann's world these days; on a national basis he can probably thank God there's an election in North Carolina and Indiana tomorrow otherwise the only other big story would be killer storms in Myanmar and thousands dead and that's not enough for a hungry national media audience to pass up something as juicy as this story. It is actually a wonder this hasn't hit red-hot overdrive given the Spitzer Siege; so far no camping outside Dann's home on Nancy Grace.

Just about every conceivable friend in the world is urging him to step down; nary a single "wait a moment, give the sinner time to repent" from the Columbus crowd now crowing for his head. Not just on a platter, mind you; this has to be a pike at the Statehouse Gates, to serve as an example that hanky-panky won't be tolerated at the domeless seat of power.

Poor Marc Dann, to be the one carrying the standard to slay Betty Montgomery, the GOP's best chance to hold on to a constitutional office in the 2006 bloodbath, only to be undone by Hawaiian pizza and a penchant for living the fraternity life away from the family. Propelled to power by Coingate, now condemned to political purgatory by Pizzagate. As a friend with a wicked sense of humor writes from Washington, counting coins should not have led to counting condoms.

Today, Stephanie Warsmith reports Dann talked for an hour with the Beacon Journal's editorial board (note to ABJ: record these things...put 'em on the web before the next day) as Governor Strickland played Dean Wormer and told the Delta House president his fraternity was finished, partly because he didn't fall on the same sword he used to lower the boom on his closest lieutenants. Now it's left up to the Democrats to do the smart thing, which they say they will now pursue: they will move to impeach one of their own, in the hopes of ending their nightmare before it becomes a long statewide march to a very public execution of any hope Dann has of rehabilitation and a future as a political player -- although something tells me the days of actually being a player should be counted on a single hand.

To impeach you need something criminal, and there are plenty of questions still needing an answer: payments for the frat house, state cars wrecked, state workers boozing it up, charges of sexual harassment and general abuse of power and just plain decency in the office. One woman says she was afraid of claims Anthony Gutierrez made that he was connected to the mob to spur a hop in the sack. The folks at the Bureau of Criminal Identification (Ohio's BCI is our nearest thing to CSI) have to be waiting for the call for this thing to go into overdrive since the Attorney General's their boss.

Are DNA samples on pizza boxes next?