Craig James says he is ready to move on. The scandals at SMU and Texas Tech continue to chase after him. He may want to move on, but the voters seem to have a different idea. Craig James wants to talk about policies. The voters want to hear about Mike Leach. Craig James wants to talk about the current president. The voters want to hear how much money Craig James took from boosters during his playing days at SMU.
The problem for Craig James is that these scandals are not going to go away, especially the one involving Texas Tech and Mike Leach. The fury over what Craig James allegedly did to cause the firing of Mike Leach has not died out in the two years since it happened. Why would it suddenly disappear now?
If getting past the Texas Tech scandal is necessary for Mister James to get elected, he should quit the race now. There are still a large number of voters who want an accounting of what exactly happened at Texas Tech in December of 2009. Even more than just an accounting of what happened; they want people punished for their role in the dismissal of Mike Leach.
Unfortunately for Craig James, he is one of the main people that West Texas voters want punished. The only man that Texas Tech fans might want punished more than Craig James is Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance. Since Kent Hance is not running for office, that leaves Craig James to face the voter’s wrath over the Mike Leach fiasco alone.
Craig James can go on saying he wants to move on. It will not happen anytime soon. He can move on if he likes, but the voters clearly have no intention of moving on. Many candidates have to deal with scandals while they are running for or serving in elected office. Most of those scandals do not have the political legs that the Texas Tech scandal does. Saying that Craig James can move past the Texas Tech scandal is like saying Richard Nixon could move past Watergate. It will not happen.
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