Economist-Pitchman Ben Stein has been oddly silent since he published that stupid article defending IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn from charges that he raped a hotel maid. If Mr. Stein had merely said, "Let's not presume the man is guilty until we know all the facts or he gets his day in court," I don't think anyone would have objected too much. But trying to argue that old men can't force themselves on women, that economists don't rape and hey, you know some maids are kinda crazy…well, if I'm ever accused of a heinous crime and you feel the urge to argue for my innocence, do me a favor. Don't get into it unless you have something a lot better than Stein had.
It's hard to decide on the most clueless part of his article but I'd vote for the whole insinuation that the N.Y.P.D. hauled Strauss-Kahn off in manacles strictly because some minimum wage employee claimed she'd been violated by him. If you were a police official and you were about to go off and cuff a very wealthy and powerful man whose arrest could have international repercussions, I think you'd want a little more evidence than one lady's word. If this thing goes to trial, the accused is going to have the best legal representation in the world…and that world will be watching.
And sure enough, New York Police are now saying they have some of that messy DNA evidence that if true would kinda prove the crime beyond any reasonable doubt…
…except that they had that in the first O.J. Simpson trial and we all know what happened there.
This whole matter is starting to intrigue me on two fronts. One is whether Ben Stein, who's supposed to be so smart, will be smart enough to write an article that apologizes for the previous article. If he does and it's a sufficient retraction, he might salvage the last smidgen of his credibility.
The other is whether Strauss-Kahn is going to plea bargain or if he's going to hire the equivalent of O.J.'s Dream Team and say, "Spare no expense but destroy my accuser and the officers who arrested me." Assuming the DNA is as reported, I don't see that he has any other alternatives.