The drip-drip-drip of revelations continues, as the whole story still eludes David Wu

Kari Chisholm

It's the first rule of scandal management: Get the whole story out, right away. If you hold back critical details, or let obvious questions go unanswered, then you're just whetting the appetite of a curious press - and creating skepticism among your friends.

And that's where I sit today. As I've said many times, I'm undecided about whether Congressman David Wu should get another term in Congress (or even finish this one), but it's getting harder and harder to believe that we've heard the whole story.

Here's the latest news about David Wu:

• Over the weekend, Wu appeared on KGW's Straight Talk (video). Among other things, he was asked whether the painkillers he accepted from a donor were oxycodone - or something else. His answer? He doesn't remember.

• It had been previously reported that on Election Day 2008, Wu disappeared for hours - unreachable by staff and family. It turns out now that he had an allergic reaction to prescribed Ambien and Valium and he had to be hospitalized, according to the AP.
  
  Which raises an important question that he hasn't answered yet: Having been through an incident in which he had an allergic reaction to a painkiller prescribed pharmaceutical, why would he accept an unknown painkiller from a campaign donor - and why would he then take the pills when, according to the donor, the campaign staffer objected to those unprescribed painkillers?

• On 620 KPOJ, Wu demurred when Carl Wolfson asked if he'd invite his physician to issue a "general statement of physical health" in lieu of full medical records. (Listen here, mp3)

• Update: I just realized that I left out one of the new revelations from the KGW interview. As noted by WW, the interview included the first admission by Wu that he was the sole author of the bizarre late-night emails that were sent from his congressional Blackberry (some in the voice of his kids).

One BlueOregon reader, Nick Bostic, wrote yesterday - "I don't get why his staff would all bail on him based purely on the things we've heard so far."

And to me, that's the critical question. Everything we've heard so far is curious - but hardly a collection of incidents that would seem to lead to the sudden departure of the key leaders of his political and congressional staffs, many of whom had worked for him for over a decade.

I'd love nothing more than to stop writing posts about all this, so here's hoping we get the whole story soon. Wu's said repeatedly that he deserves some zone of privacy regarding his medical situation. I couldn't agree more; I've long believed in a zone of privacy for all people, including elected officials. But not when it comes to the treatment of staff, especially taxpayer-funded staff.

Unfortunately, Wu also said on KPOJ that he thinks he's now told "the whole story" and it's now "tied up with a bow" with the interview Monday morning on KPOJ.

Sorry, but we're not there yet.

Meanwhile, with respect to the politics:

• Hillsboro Republican and State Senator Bruce Starr says he's considering a run against David Wu in 2012, according to The Hill.

• The DCCC's top dog, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY), refused comment when asked by The Hill about Wu's plans to run for re-election. That's a troubling development for Wu; he didn't even get the dreaded "full vote of confidence".

• By contrast, state party chair Meredith Wood Smith told the Oregonian that she was reassured after her meeting with Wu; and Washington County party chair Karen Packer and national committeewoman Lupita Maurer told the Oregonian that he "seemed to be in good shape".

Here's to hoping that they're right -- and we can once again support Congressman Wu wholeheartedly.

By Kari Chisholm March 01, 2011