First, I have no trouble understanding coachbill’s take on having Blair speak about ethics. We are servants of the truth, and Blair violated that. I don’t condone what he did in any way. It was fundamentally wrong, as any reasonable person can see, let alone an ethical journalist.

But, I wonder whether Blair will take the opportunity to lay out what led to his decision to deceive his readers and colleagues, what he’s learned from it, how it’s changed him, assuming it has. Has it caused him to deconstruct his own view of the importance of ethics and his own choices and habits regarding ethics? Does he take responsibility for what he did, or does he blame others and the system? Does he see now what was a turning point in his path as a journalist, when he first stepped over the line and then continued in that direction instead of turning back?

Is there no room for compassion for him, not despite his wrongdoing but exactly because of it, and hope for his own growth and redemption? Is there no room for the rest of us to learn something from him and his bad choices?

I think there is.