I almost hope Steve Johnson is lying

Who would've figured we'd be back to another Stephen Johnson scandal? You could argue (as we did here, ad nauseum) the causes of and contributors to the last scandal -- you know, his posting on an explicit gay hookup site -- but this one's pretty clear cut. The guy got caught with pot at the airport. See ya, Steve. That's all she wrote. He absolutely did the right thing stepping down from his seat on the School Board. What has surprised me a bit, though, is the reaction to his "medicinal purposes" statement.

The Times-Dispatch ridiculed him in its lead editorial this morning: "Johnson says the weed is for 'medicinal purposes' (cops have never heard that one before) for a condition he declined to disclose when the incident occurred." Gary Brookins' cartoon beside it showed Johnson, literally high as a kite, flying over the airport. Chortle, chortle.

And all over the T-D's reader reaction posts are the same in-quotation-marks references to Johnson's explanation. Throughout the first scandal plenty of people (myself among them) accused Johnson of monumentally bad judgment (ditto this time around) but as far as I remember no one ever thought him a liar.

In a weird way, I hope Johnson is lying, because if he is telling the truth it means he is afflicted with something painful, serious and possibly life-threatening. Won't everyone feel terrible if it turns out that Johnson is telling the truth?

OK, shifting gears wildly to a matter of great importance:

Richmond's Elliott Yamin sailed through another round of "American Idol" with another confident and vocally strong performance. Dude, we dig you, we're pulling for you, but the Curious George hairdo has got to go...