Loyalty, a shared burden

Marijuana… Discovery of this product of the hemp plant no longer is a major event unless it is found by the bale in a boat, by the acre growing on some rural estate or in as little as a joint, if it’s in the possession of someone connected with a politician.

This week, the congressional campaign of state Sen. John Baldacci has been singed by the resignations of his sister and campaign manager, Rosemary Baldacci, and his press secretary, Sheila Long, who were allegedly in possession of a small amount of marijuana last Thursday night. A Bangor police officer on bicycle patrol nabbed the pair down by the waterfront.

District Attorney Christopher Almy said both will be cited for civil possession of the drug. There was not enough pot on the pair or in their vehicle — the threshold under Maine law is 1 1/4 ounces — to warrant criminal charges.

The political damage control wasn’t pretty to watch.

Baldacci, after much genuine agonizing, did what he had to do and accepted the resignations of his closest aides, one of them, a member of his family. He said he doesn’t condone what they did. He reaffirmed his personal opposition to drug use of any kind. In his interviews, he was visibly affected by the episode and its consequences.

Torn by his responsibility to staff and family, his need for the pair’s competence and emotional support in a long campaign, and what his political instincts must have been telling him — to let them go — the candidate chose to look for balance where it didn’t exist.

He officially dropped them from the staff, but allowed them to stay on as unpaid volunteers. He gave them a chance to redeem themselves at the expense of a taint that will linger in his organization. It is not compromise, but risk. It will be viewed by the public either as an act of compassion or weakness, but in neither case should it be decisive in this campaign.

The two earned their unconditional release, and should have demanded it, not because they were caught with a small amount of marijuana, but because they used exceedingly poor judgment that placed both their campaign and their candidate in jeopardy. Loyalty can be a burden, but it must be shared. At the moment, the candidate is carrying the whole load.