When I read the news today, I noticed how much of it consists of lies. Bruno vs. Spitzer, Roger Stone. Who knew what when? And the fire tragedy — who cut the standpipe, who stopped the inspections, who approved the gangsters, who ignored DOI, etc.?

The most recent lie, however, may have been told by Senator Craig of Idaho, who insists he is not gay.

The heart of that issue depends on what your definition of ‘gay’ is. It is similar to the 1990s question of what ‘is’ is.

If you mean someone who publicly adopts a homosexual life style or resides and cohabits with a member of the same sex, the answer for Mr. Craig is no. If you mean someone who professes heterosexuality, but has homosexual urges which he occasionally cannot or will not control, the answer is, probably. If you mean someone who lives a heterosexual life, but may have homosexual fantasies, the answer is whatever you would like it to be.

Larry Craig is 62 years old and owns a ranch. He has three children and nine grandchildren. He was first elected to the Idaho State Senate in 1974, at the age of 29. His U.S. Senate term expires January 3, 2009. Until a couple of days ago, he managed Mitt Romney’s campaign in Idaho, a state which is now 22.8% Mormon.

Mr. Craig has a right, as we all do, to describe himself with whatever sexual orientation he chooses. He may have had varied experiences. But can he pretend to be a heterosexual when he is in fact a homosexual? He can, but who will believe him?

The voters of Idaho are Mr. Craig’s employers. They can vote him out when he comes up for re-election in 2008. He has been an elected official for 33 years. Should he resign now, for having deceived the voters for a generation? I would think not. If every public official who fooled the voters had to resign his position, there would be more special elections to fill vacancies than regular elections.

Mr. Craig is being attacked as severely as was Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who in 1990, allowed, either knowingly or unknowingly, a male prostitute to advertise and solicit business out of his apartment. There is a difference between the cases. Mr. Frank was liberal, openly gay, and apologized for what had happened. He was reprimanded by the House, but re-elected nine times since then by the voters of his district. Mr. Craig has been a public enemy of gay rights, denies his own alleged sexuality, and says he did not commit the act for which he pleaded guilty.

If the facts are as has been stated by the press, there is nothing that should compel Mr. Craig’s resignation from the Senate. He has a right to be judged by the electors, not be hounded from office by self-appointed judges who may be bigger hypocrites than Mr. Craig is.

It appears obvious that he believed, or was told, that if he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid the fine, nothing would be said about the nature of his conduct and he would escape public attention. It was reasonable but overly optimistic for him to conclude that if he paid $575 he could avoid public scandal.

For better or for worse, this sort of thing inevitably is found out. It took about 10 weeks for the tale to reach from Minneapolis to Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, and thus the world.

There are gay people all over the world. More enlightened cultures accept gay people; others make same-sex behavior punishable by death. In many places, there are superficial prohibitions, but in fact toleration. In America, attitudes vary from region to region and class to class. There is no question that enormous progress has come in the last half century, and gays and lesbians are now freer here than they ever were, although there are miles to go. Still there are geographic areas and particular cultures in this country where there is hostility and discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation.

I do not know Senator Craig, and there is nothing in his record that appeals to me in any way. It is sad though to see him hoist on the petard of his inability to control his own desires, while at the same time pandering to the views of those who have the most contempt for what he is. Hopefully, the day will come when the Craigs of this world will not have to tap their feet in toilet stalls to make furtive contact, and police will not hover in adjacent stalls trying to ensnare them. For someone who holds elective office in the real Idaho, however, and not the film version of “My Own Private Idaho,” that day is likely to be a long way off.

Mr. Stern, president of New York Civic, was New York City’s parks commissioner under Mayors Koch and Giuliani.