admin @ Wed, 2006-09-20 08:01
In his book that went on sale Tuesday, former Gov. James E. McGreevey defends his appointment of an Israeli lover to advise him on homeland security.
A sampling of book retailers suggested The Confession wasn't flying off shelves, though sellers displayed it prominently. Major chains discounted the book up to 30 percent; a shop in gay-friendly New Hope, Pa., reported no sales by late afternoon.
Many of the book's details have already been published as reporters secured advance copies. But McGreevey's defense of hiring Golan Cipel stood out amid a stew of unsavory recollections about back-alley, gay-sex encounters.
McGreevey takes issue with reporting by former Gannett State Bureau reporter Sandy McClure in a story that focused on Cipel's job qualifications, not their then-secret intimate relationship.
McClure, recently retired, quoted a former officer from the Israeli consulate in New York, who, as Cipel's boss, said the young Israeli had never been involved in fighting terrorism.
"I believe the consul was wrong," McGreevey writes. "As part of his efforts in the communications office, he (Cipel) helped devise ways to sell Israel's anti-terror policies in the press, no small responsibility."
McGreevey wrote, "I'd chosen Golan as my senior counsel because he was smart, tested in communications policy, experienced in international trade and business protocols, and focused on security issues. And because he never pulled his punches with me."
While he defends Cipel's appointment, McGreevey opens his book -- paragraph No. 1, in fact -- telling readers, "In a spectacular lapse of judgment, I had put Golan on my payroll while at the same time initiating a secret sexual relationship with him."
McGreevey also revealed how he coaxed fat-cat contributors into New Jersey's pay-to-play culture, where donors to campaigns expect favors, contracts or jobs.
McGreevey said he knew he would face felony charges if he OK'd a job-for-donation deal, but he writes, "We'd long since learned to walk this side of a dangerous line."
A Catholic upbringing taught him being gay was sinful, McGreevey said, and his political aspirations made McGreevey turn to dark alleys, rest stops and parks with anonymous experimental encounters with scores of strange men.
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