Even as several of his Oregon papers have called for Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) to resign, the seven-term congressman is showing no signs of stepping aside, and even filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to begin organizing a reelection campaign for 2012.
Wu's erratic behavior in the weeks leading up to the November election led his staff to try to stage an intervention and urged him to seek medical attention. In one especially strange episode, Wu emailed his staff in the middle of the night photos of himself in a tiger costume for Halloween. After the Portland Oregonian's extensive reporting into his strange actions, Wu finally broke his silence this week, telling "Good Morning America" he was seeking counseling and also later admitted he had once taken prescription pain killers from a campaign donor.
But even his brief admissions and mea culpa haven't stopped Oregon editorial boards to call for him to step aside, both for reasons best for the district and to focus on his own health. But his FEC filing this week suggests not only does Wu intend to finish out his term, but to seek an eighth. While the statement of organization doesn't mean he is definitely running agin, whether he changes his own mind or is eventually pressured not to, it is a signal he intends to soldier on.
On Thursday, the Beaverton Valley Times wrote that "Wu's troubles should force him to seek an immediate leave of absence from Congress or resign from office altogether" but that they did express hope he "receives professional help and recovers." The Times also wrote that Wu's latest actions weren't "all that surprising" though, as the Portland congressman has been rumored to have eccentric tendencies for years, but nothing as extreme as what happened last fall.
This post was updated at 5:51 p.m.
The Eugene Register-Guard wrote Wednesday that it was the fact that Wu was less-than-forthcoming about his problems that should cause him to step down. Wu "says he has sought professional care, and supporters claim that seeking treatment should not disqualify a person for public office. They're right, but that's not the issue. The real problem is a lack of candor, and for that he should resign." The Daily Astorian was more sympathetic, writing that "Wu's situation appears to involve symptoms of mental illness, and that is sad to observe." But the paper ultimately comes to the conclusion that it "would be the better part of smartness for Wu to resign, but political decisions are more often emotional than rational." And the Oregonian, whose investigations instigated the scrutiny surrounding Wu, doesn't call for Wu to step aside immediately, but says he first needs to be more "forthright about his problems" and "face his constituents and have persuasive answers to the questions of whether and how he can still be an effective member of Congress. ... If he can't or won't answer such questions -- and answer them fully and publicly, in the 1st District -- he should resign."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/02/wu-showing-no-signs-of-stepping-aside-25
But even his brief admissions and mea culpa haven't stopped Oregon editorial boards to call for him to step aside, both for reasons best for the district and to focus on his own health. But his FEC filing this week suggests not only does Wu intend to finish out his term, but to seek an eighth. While the statement of organization doesn't mean he is definitely running agin, whether he changes his own mind or is eventually pressured not to, it is a signal he intends to soldier on.
On Thursday, the Beaverton Valley Times wrote that "Wu's troubles should force him to seek an immediate leave of absence from Congress or resign from office altogether" but that they did express hope he "receives professional help and recovers." The Times also wrote that Wu's latest actions weren't "all that surprising" though, as the Portland congressman has been rumored to have eccentric tendencies for years, but nothing as extreme as what happened last fall.
This post was updated at 5:51 p.m.
The Eugene Register-Guard wrote Wednesday that it was the fact that Wu was less-than-forthcoming about his problems that should cause him to step down. Wu "says he has sought professional care, and supporters claim that seeking treatment should not disqualify a person for public office. They're right, but that's not the issue. The real problem is a lack of candor, and for that he should resign." The Daily Astorian was more sympathetic, writing that "Wu's situation appears to involve symptoms of mental illness, and that is sad to observe." But the paper ultimately comes to the conclusion that it "would be the better part of smartness for Wu to resign, but political decisions are more often emotional than rational." And the Oregonian, whose investigations instigated the scrutiny surrounding Wu, doesn't call for Wu to step aside immediately, but says he first needs to be more "forthright about his problems" and "face his constituents and have persuasive answers to the questions of whether and how he can still be an effective member of Congress. ... If he can't or won't answer such questions -- and answer them fully and publicly, in the 1st District -- he should resign."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/02/wu-showing-no-signs-of-stepping-aside-25