Editorial
Step aside, governor

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New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey does not have the credibility or ethical standing to control the timing of his departure from office. He should leave now.

McGreevey announced his resignation last Thursday in a press conference in which the married governor declared his homosexuality and admitted to an affair with another man. He would step down Nov. 15 Though he did not mention it at the time, the governor's extraordinary admissions were an attempt to stay ahead of unraveling events. He faces a threatened sexual-harassment suit by the man McGreevey had put on his payroll in 2002.

The governor does his state and other Democrats no favors by hanging onto his job past the November general election in order to safely pass the job to the Senate president.

The governor has earned no special dispensation nor accrued any favors or sympathies in this predicament. He was living a lie kept from his second wife, his parents and his political colleagues. His sexuality is his business, but the assertions of aggressive behavior toward a staff member — male or female — are very much the public's concern.

His cynical attempt to wrap himself in the mantle of a poll-tested declaration — "I am a gay American" — is especially offensive. He is a politician in trouble, not a sexual minority seeking equal treatment.

McGreevey won office big, but his administration has been ethically challenged from the start. Time magazine reports his commerce secretary, chief of staff and state police director were all forced to quit.

McGreevey is no loss for the state of New Jersey. He has already resigned. Make it effective immediately.