Mrs. T's rewriting of history is pathetic

If Tish Traficant persists in her ridiculous quest to whitewash her husband's record of political corruption, it won't be long before detractors rearrange the letters of her first name to form a word that crudely describes the stuff she's spouting.
It's bad enough that the residents of the Mahoning Valley are forced to live with the shame of having James A. Traficant Jr. as the only member of Congress expelled from the House of Representatives in decades. And it does nothing for this region's reputation to have Traficant sitting in a federal prison in Pennsylvania after being convicted by a jury in Cleveland on several criminal charges, including racketeering, tax evasion and bribery. The disgraced congressman is serving an eight-year sentence in the Federal Correctional Institution at Allenwood in White Deer, Pa.
While it is impossible to forget about Traficant -- he was by far the most influential and talented politician in the region since the late Congressman Michael Kirwan -- he certainly doesn't deserve to be put on a pedestal. And he most certainly doesn't need apologists. If Mrs. Traficant wants to be a stand-by-your-man wife, that's her choice. If she feels the need to go on television and radio and talk about what a wonderful husband and father Jimbo was, that's understandable.
Great injustice?
But what is not acceptable is having her sit before a microphone, lamenting the great injustice done to the congressman-turned-federal jailbird. That's what she did Tuesday when she appeared on WKBN radio as a guest of talk show hosts Ron Verb and Casey Malone. The only thing missing was a rendition of "Kumbaya."
In September 2002, after her Aug. 21 appearance on Fox News Channel's "On the Record," hosted by Greta Van Susteren, it was suggested in this space that Mrs. Traficant's coming-out-party meant that she was now fair game. It was pointed out that early on in his political career, Traficant let it be known that he did not intend to use his family, especially his wife and daughter, as props in his election campaigns. The message was clear: They would be off-limits to the press. He kept his word, and reporters steered clear of Tish and daughter, Elizabeth. Even when they appeared by Traficant's side during his many election victories, their privacy was respected.
Tish and Elizabeth kept out of sight during the congressman's criminal trial in Cleveland and when he attended the House of Representatives' expulsion hearing that resulted in a vote of 420-1. But after he took up residence in the federal pen, Mrs. Traficant emerged to publicly spout her husband's tiresome whine, "I'm the victim of a grand conspiracy by the federal government."
Even though she received kid-glove treatment from Fox's Van Susteren, it was this writer's opinion that she had ventured onto dangerous territory.
This is how the column of Sept. 9, 2002, ended: "Tish Traficant will find out that the public spotlight can be very harsh."
But based on the red-carpet treatment she got Tuesday from Verb and Malone, and the gushing calls from friends and long-time Traficant supporters, Mrs. Traficant can't help but be emboldened to continue spouting the gospel according to Jimbo.
Why was Tish given a pass by the talk show hosts?
Here's the answer from a cynical journalist: They were currying favor with her, knowing that she alone can open the door for an interview with her husband.
Selective
Since he was carted off to prison 10 months ago, the former congressman has refused all requests for interviews. He has even been picky about the people he will permit to visit him in Allenwood. The Traficant mystique hasn't been lost -- though he has been out of sight for almost a year. Any reporter worth his or her salt would be trying to find a way get the interview.
But if there is such a thing as paying too high a price for an interview, it was evident Tuesday. When asked, in effect, why the ex-Mahoning County sheriff and the ex-congressman surrounded himself with individuals of questionable character, she replied that he saw good in everyone and believed everyone deserved a second chance.
And so, his confidante and district director when he was elected to Congress was the late Chuck O'Nesti, described in federal documents as a bagman for the Mafia. Indeed, O'Nesti admitted being friends with mob boss Lenine Strollo.
Mrs. Traficant has taken up the banner for her husband, and she deserves to feel the bite of skeptical journalists. Thus far, she has emerged unscathed.