Al Franken: Falling on his sword for the cause. Today, he is a hero.

If politics were fair, the allegations of inappropriate behavior by Senator Al Franken would have simply gone to the Ethics Committee. But politics is, sadly, not fair. Whether or not Franken should have resigned is now a moot point.

Everyone should be sure to take a few minutes to watch his statement on the floor of the Senate. Franken showed the grace, wisdom, and patriotism he has consistently displayed during his time in office. He clearly is not going to participate in any Democratic Circular Firing Squad. Nor should we. By falling on his sword, Franken has cleared the way to highlight the hypocrisy of the Republican political class.

Whatever the actual extent of his inappropriate behavior, Al Franken is a hero today. There are no "What abouts?" left for the Republicans to use, unless they want to go back to the last Century with Bill Clinton. Of course, they will try that, but it will ring much less true. (The Clintons should try to disappear from public view; their presence now creates more harm than good.)