We want straight story

When you're running for the highest office in the state, and it becomes known that, while in college, you headed a sorority that barred blacks, the last thing you should do is pin the mess on your African-American opponent and the NAACP.

But that's just what Attorney General Christine Gregoire did last week. It was stunning to see this careful politician accuse King County Executive Ron Sims, her rival in the Democratic primary, of being in cahoots with black leaders to take her down. Sims denies planting the story. I've never run for office, but I have a sense of what I would do if a questionable part of my past came to haunt my political future:

Own it. Give it context. Say what happened, warts and all. If you screwed up, say so. If you're sorry, say that, too. If you're not because you learned something and it informed the rest of your life, tell us.

Then move on.

That's what Gregoire should do over allegations that she tolerated discrimination at the Kappa Delta sorority at the University of Washington in the late 1960s.

And it's what presidential hopeful John Kerry has been trying to do with the flap over what really happened on that boat in Vietnam all those years ago.

Candidates forget that American voters want the straight story. We've all done things we regret at one time or another, and empathy can be powerful at the polls.

All candidates in crisis have to do is ask us. I am always amazed at how the "walking-around people" Bill Clinton referred to often know better than those they put in office.

Keith Bish — known as The Bear — spends his days hawking seafood at the Pike Place Fish Market, chatting up folks from around the world. I asked him what to do when your past steps out in front of you.

"You gotta have it forever," he said. "That's part of who you are. That makes you you."

But, that said: "What you're doing right now is what makes a difference."

Joseph Drake has been a high-school principal for 16 years, currently at Seattle's John Marshall High. He witnesses daily the foolishness of youth. He's also there when students come back to visit, a little older and a lot smarter.

"We've all done something in the past that we would be ashamed of today," Drake said. "But you can't just dismiss it.

"You say, 'That was stupid, and from here on now, going forward, this is me. And if you see me walk differently than my talk, call me on it.' "

Linda Iwanyk of Mercer Island agreed: "Look ahead, don't look back.

"Just be consistent," she added. "More consistent than the other guy."

Gregoire has been consistent, saying she stayed with the sorority to change it for the better.

Now she needs to change her response to criticism — and voters — if she wants to do the same thing for the state.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com. The Greeks invited me to leave.