My sister is bipolar. She doesn’t steal. Patty Duke in her landmark book “Brilliant Madness. Living with Manic Depressive Illness” writes about her bipolar disorder and makes the point that no matter how crazy and manic she got, she understood that she was still responsible for her behavior. Jesse Jackson Jr has pled guilty to stealing $750,000 in campaign contributions to buy baubles for himself and his wife. Supporters who say this is tragically due to Jackson being bipolar are either clueless or deliberately misleading.
Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was charged in federal court Friday with conspiring to use campaign funds for personal use — in an alleged $750,000 spending spree that included purchases of a gold-plated Rolex and pricey children’s furniture.
Jackson offered “no excuses” apologizing for “errors in judgment.” Bzzt. Stealing $750,000 is premeditated theft occurring over years and not a mere error in judgment, which implies something like doing a rolling stop at a stop sign. He is, reports say, “depressed,” “broken-hearted,” and feeling “like he’s losing everything.” Well, that’s because he is.
Jesse Jackson Jr is a corrupt politician who rode on Daddy’s coattails and connections. And now he’s going to prison and has no one to blame but himself.