A Skeleton in Barney's Closet

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Earlier this month Frank apologized to other Democrats for the embarrassment he was causing. The audience's eyes were not averted as usual, says one Congressman, because "Barney was living in a different world in 1985 that most of us don't understand . . . We have all been stupid when we have fallen for the wrong person. Most of us were lucky enough to do it when we were younger."

One reason Frank says he revealed his homosexuality was to square his private and public lives, to protect himself from the Gobies of the world who don't abide by the tacit social contract among former spouses and lovers not to talk because they know so much. When that pact is broken, the results can be devastating. Massachusetts Republican Edward Brooke, an able Senator for two terms, lost his seat to challenger Paul Tsongas amid divorce proceedings in 1978, damaged by press reports that focused on the breakup of his marriage.

While university professors and college students might be expected to tolerate Frank's affair, when he returned to his district it was a largely working-class crowd that cheered him at a parade through Fall River soon after the story broke. Perhaps even in quiet, conservative Fall River, the world isn't as neat as it used to be. One must learn to forgive the sinner while hating the sin -- or risk shutting out the daughter who had the abortion, the son with AIDS, the nephew trapped by drugs. Even the most conservative parts of the Fourth District may decide to believe and forgive Frank rather than Gobie. Maybe those who catch the early bus know better than anyone that an honest day's work can sometimes be done no matter how messy life is at night.