Ethics: Most of Ethics

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Most Principled Congressperson Would nobody step forward and accept responsibility for the $500 billion S&L debacle? Wait! Who's that dowdy Representative resigning her seat to atone for Congress's sins? Lacey Davenport, the heart-of-gold legislator from the glorious state of Doonesbury. The grande dame was swept back into office in a write-in campaign.

Most Surprising Taint Pristine Minnesota was sullied by a thin layer of political grime. In July, Republican David Durenberger was denounced by the Senate for unethical conduct. Three months later, G.O.P. candidate Jon Grunseth abandoned the gubernatorial race after charges arose that he had skinny-dipped with teenage girls nine years ago.

Least Eternal Punishment "Lifetime" bans on Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson and U.S. long jumper Larry Myricks for using performance-enhancing drugs proved short-lived. The sanctions were lifted by their respective nations' sports officials -- in plenty of time for the athletes to enter the 1992 Olympics.

Bleeder of the Pack American Psycho, the latest novel by brat-pack golden boy Bret Easton Ellis, 26, contained detailed descriptions of female mutilations that outraged women staff members at Simon & Schuster, Ellis' publisher. Did that give S&S second thoughts? Nope. But shortly before the book was to hit the stores, bad press notices finally persuaded the firm to scrap the project and forfeit the reported $300,000 advance.

Most Divisive Murder Investigation When Charles Stuart, 30, the manager of a Boston fur shop, reported the slaying of his pregnant wife by a black mugger in October 1989, police unleashed a massive manhunt, and racial tensions in Boston worsened. In January, Stuart's brother revealed that Stuart was the murderer. The next day Stuart took his own life.

Most Disconcerting Academic Inquiry Stanford University researchers discovered that Martin Luther King Jr. had borrowed heavily from other works without giving credit while preparing a doctoral dissertation in the mid- 1950s. After much angst, they called it plagiarism.

Sleaziest Election Campaign When Republican Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina faced a stiff challenge from black Democrat Harvey Gantt, he bashed gays, then feminists, linking Gantt to their causes. Finally, he turned to race baiting, airing a TV spot that depicted white workers' frustration at racial quotas. Helms won.

Worst Screening Policy Texas' McAllen Medical Center, which sits in a crossing zone heavily trafficked by aliens, outfitted security guards in olive-colored togs that bear a strong resemblance to the uniforms of U.S. Border Patrol agents. Legal-aid lawyers charge that the dress code scared off poor Hispanics in need of health care.

Smarmiest Denial He didn't do it, he didn't do it -- O.K., so maybe he did it. But Washington Mayor Marion Barry did not fess up to a cocaine problem until he was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of possession. Even then, Barry's contrition was about as deep as a one-snort line of cocaine.

Most Painful Dilemma The right-to-die issue heated up when the parents of Nancy Cruzan, a comatose Missouri woman, petitioned the Supreme Court for permission to remove her feeding tube. The high court upheld a state's right to demand evidence of the patient's intent. A Missouri judge then ruled that the tube could be removed.