Sen. Larry Craig May Be in Denial, Psychologists Say

Aug. 29, 2007 — -- Idaho Sen. Larry Craig says that he's not gay and never has been, but psychologists told ABC News that he's likely in denial about his sexuality.

After reports of Craig's arrest for alleged lewd contact in a men's bathroom at a Minneapolis airport surfaced Tuesday, the Republican senator took the stage to defend himself publicly.

"I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport," said Craig. "Let me be clear. I'm not gay and never have been."

The police report said that Craig had tapped his foot in the bathroom stall and rubbed his foot against the officer's, actions known by authorities as signals for soliciting sex. Court documents show that Craig pleaded guilty to engaging in "physical" conduct that tended "to arouse alarm."

Even so, Craig apologized not for the "lewd conduct," but instead for pleading guilty in the first place. The senator blamed a local newspaper's "relentless" reporting for his "mistake" in pleading guilty.

"In pleading guilty, I overreacted in Minneapolis, because of the stress of the [newspaper] Idaho Statesman's investigation and the rumors it has fueled around Idaho," said Craig.

But like many political commentators, psychologists who listened to Craig's speech aren't buying his story.

Flip-Flop Suggests Guilt

"He must have had some internal conflict, even if he never acted out sexually," said Dorrie Lynn, a psychologist in the Washington D.C. area. "If [the allegations] aren't true, he would have just looked at the reporters and said 'don't be silly' and 'leave me alone,' but instead he did admit it and now he's saying he didn't really do it and someone made him do it."

Craig's denial, Lynn said, would be typical of someone who is hiding something and, in the senator's case, is desperate to salvage his career.

"This would be the normal reaction of someone who is emotionally immature, like a teenage boy who has gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar and then says 'no it's not me,'" said Lynn. "It would also be a reaction in a society where one feels so much shame and guilt that they think their sexual orientation would destroy them and be unacceptable."

Politically, Craig is known for being a staunch opponent of gay rights, a stance that seems to contradict the police report that he was seeking out a gay encounter.

If the allegations are true, Craig may have been "splitting off," psychologists said, a term used to describe people who act in the opposite way of their own personal behaviors.

"It's when you have homosexual feelings and you are so uncomfortable with them that you feel like you have to do something in opposition to them," said Doug Haldeman, a psychologist in Seattle and member of the board of directors of the American Psychological Association. "And when you're a public figure in a conservative state like Idaho, where being openly gay would not be an option, you can enact all sorts of behaviors that are completely contrary to how you feel inside."

The Blame Game

In an effort to combat the hypocrisy, Haldeman said, Craig could be supporting anti-gay legislation to deflect attention from himself.

"He's targeting what looks like an external enemy — gays in society— but what he's really doing is taking all of the focus away from his own internal conflict so he doesn't have to deal with the hypocrisy," said Haldeman.

At one point in his speech, Craig said that he pleaded guilty to the charges "in the hope of making it go away," a comment psychologists recognize as an indication of internal strife.

"What is it that he wanted to make go away, really?" asked Haldeman, who identifies himself as a gay. "He wanted to make the feelings go away but they never go away and they won't go away, so he keeps himself going with restroom encounters and focuses all his energy on going after who he really is inside."

Placing blame on others — in Craig's case, the newspaper — psychologists say, is typical for someone who is both scared of the possible outcome of their actions and unwilling to take responsibility.

"Blame usually comes out of fear and it's to not take responsibility for your own actions," said Lynn, who says the culture of placing blame is becoming inherent in politics and Hollywood.

Craig's Future

Many speculate this scandal has ruined Craig's career for good, but should he decide to return to Washington D.C., or even run for re-election in 2008, he will be facing ethics investigations and, more likely than not, calls for his resignation. Late today, three senators and one congressman had called for his resignation and Craig agreed to step down from his Senate committee assignments.

But Craig's private life is even more uncertain.

Even if Craig did engage in gay sex, it doesn't necessarily mean he's gay, people who study human relationships say.

"We know there are lots of people who may identify as being gay, heterosexual, whatever, but that doesn't really capture their inner fantasies," said Greg Herek, a professor of psychology at the University of California - Davis. "There are people who are heterosexual, but engage in gay activity."

After these allegations, Craig will not only have to find a way to deal with the public humiliation, but will also be faced with his internal conflict, said psychologists.

"This is something that could drive him deeper into the closet," Haldeman said.