Panabaker Faces Error Head-On

The only good thing to be said about the drunken driving arrest of Kootenai County Commissioner Dick Panabaker is this: He was willing to accept the consequences.

Panabaker refused to dissemble. He pleaded guilty to the charge rather than drag out the ordeal as most politicians do when caught doing wrong. He didn’t try to bully the arresting officer. Or jailers. He accepted his sentence of two days in jail or in the sheriff’s work release program, a penalty that falls within the guidelines for first-time offenders. Now, he’s ready to pay his debt to society.

As a result, his constituents are prepared to forgive and forget, mindful that no one is without sin. Anyone who drinks enough to become inebriated is susceptible to an error in judgment that can lead to a drunken driving arrest. Once sober, Panabaker showed good judgment by publicly castigating himself for drinking and driving and by refusing to use the clout he has as a commissioner who sets budgets for Kootenai County law enforcement.

Politicians from the lowest post in local government to the office of the U.S. president should study Panabaker’s example.

President Clinton would have spared this country a lot of turmoil - and Congress the awful job of voting on his impeachment - if he’d just said at the start of his sex scandal: “I did have sex with that woman - Monica Lewinsky.” Instead, he lied to a grand jury and quibbled about the meaning of the word “is.” So the country was introduced to Lewinsky, Linda Tripp, Kathleen Willey and others who taught our children and grandchildren about oral sex. Cigars. And that room off the Oval Office.

By refusing to apologize immediately for making a threatening phone call to a lobbyist two years ago, state Sen. Jim West, R-Spokane, ignited months of nasty headlines and a criminal investigation. Ultimately, he spent $20,000 in legal fees to defend himself, paid a $500 fine and apologized. The apology, issued five months after the fact, was met with skepticism. One opponent questioned the timing: “Is it that he is feeling a lot of public pressure to make an apology and get it behind him, or is it because the political season is upon us?”

In Kootenai County, state Reps. Jeff Alltus, R-Hayden Lake, and Jim Clark, R-Hayden, prolonged public scrutiny last year when they were caught in wrongdoing. Alltus became the butt of local jokes when he tried to justify a hunting trip with his son in which he illegally killed two elk.

And Clark initially refused to submit to a Breathalyzer and claimed he wasn’t drunk when he was arrested for drunken driving last fall.

To their credit, each legislator later pleaded guilty to the charges against them. When they did, the public criticism against them died down.

No one expects lawmakers to be perfect.

Everyone makes an occasional mistake in judgment.

Divorce courts and police blotters show how many people make serious mistakes. The best way to handle an error in judgment that hurts others is to apologize and ask forgiveness.

Politicians, like Commissioner Panabaker, who follow this course will discover that Americans have a great ability to forgive and move on.

Those, like President Clinton, who try to hide or downplay their indiscretions multiply their problems and promote cynicism.