Coming out, stepping down

New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey (D) in August dropped a political bombshell, announcing that he was a homosexual, had engaged in adultery with a man, and would resign. The married father of a preschool daughter, Gov. McGreevey spun the news as the conclusion of intensive soul-searching: "My unique truth in the world . . . is that I am a gay American," he said.

The announcement instead seemed timed to quash a looming sexual-harassment suit threatened by his former lover and aide Golan Cipel, whom critics said the governor hired and promoted based on their sexual relationship.

The governor delayed exiting office until mid-November. That ensured he could surrender the balance of his term to Democratic state senate president Richard Codey, instead of throwing open the Garden State governorship to a possible GOP takeover in the general election.