We may find out as soon as Tuesday whether the former Governor did a good enough job convincing jurors that he was never as good a manager of people as he always appeared to be.
And so the first criminal case in history against a Virginia governor could come down to this: Does McDonnell, self-professed micromanager and 2012 vice presidential prospect, make a convincing chump?
Fallout—irrespective of the outcome—will predictably include tarring Republicans (for the second election in a row) with McDonnell’s ethical (even if not illegal) lapses. But will it change Virginia government’s operation as a “favor factory“? Not bloody likely…that would require serious ethics reforms no one has shown they have the stomach to make happen.
