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UPDATED: The first "Who Said It?" of 2013

    by Will Bunch | Columnist
    Published 

Who said this?

We are just three days into the new year and we have a strong contender for Dunce of the Year. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) has done the impossible — making the NCAA a sympathetic figure and deepening the horror of the Penn State child-rape scandal. Corbett is suing the NCAA because the penalties imposed on Penn State, which the university accepted in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child-molestation scandal, are too "harsh." No, seriously.

The answer may actually surprise you, for a change.

UPDATE: Normally unhinged (hey, I can identify) conservative Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post said it.

My new favorite local conservative, Christopher Freind, added this today:

Now let's get serious and look at the real reasons behind Corbett's newfound love of Penn State. While he is now busy acting like its savior, let us not forget his grandstanding, doing his best impression of a Roman Emperor wanting to raze Penn State and sow its fields with salt, just like Carthage.

Has Corbett finally realized he is about to become the first governor to lose a second term? He is already one of the nation's least popular governors, and, with the exception of demagoguing on Penn State (when convenient), is spotted in public less than Bigfoot. Now, he is at the point in politics where they separate the men from the boys, and he is frantically reaching for something with wide appeal.

Suing the NCAA won't help Corbett, even if his lawsuit is successful, as Pennsylvanians see right through his ploy. Many view him as part of the process which went overboard in destroying Penn State's reputation and giving Joe Paterno a premature death. And even more think he deliberately understaffed the Sandusky investigation - leaving children to potentially suffer at Sandusky's hands - so that he wouldn't alienate Penn State alumni while running for governor. Corbett's blatant pandering has only furthered the resolve of so many to end his tenure with a resounding sack.

I think of this more as the political equivalent of a "Hail Mary" pass to save his sinking administration. And it's easily batted away in the end zone. Have a great weekend -- see you Sunday.