Will these allegations hold up?

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

We likely are going to witness a fairly significant difference in the way the public and the political establishment treat two public officials accused of misbehavior while holding public office.

They aren’t parallel examples, but pretty close.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has been accused by three women of committing acts of sexual harassment. Cuomo has apologized (more or less) for his misdeeds, declaring he “never intended” to act so boorishly. Calls among Democrats and Republicans are mounting for him to resign. Cuomo says he won’t quit.

Now, we have U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Republican, who’s been accused by a government inspector general of sexual harassment of employees while he served as White House physician. The IG also says Jackson, who represents my former congressional district in the Texas Panhandle, drank on the job and took sleeping pills while tending to three presidents of the United States. Jackson calls the IG report a hit job and blames it on partisan politics.

I haven’t heard anyone up yonder in the Panhandle of Texas declare that he should quit. Could it be that the GOP-friendly Panhandle, governed by a party that used to proclaim allegiance to the notion that “character counts,” no longer holds that view?

I believe Cuomo will have difficulty riding out this storm. Jackson should have at least equal difficulty.

Indeed, the IG report was issued after interviews with about 70 eyewitnesses who testified under threat of committing a felony for lying about what they saw Dr. Jackson do. Isn’t that credible enough?

The congressman’s dodge that it is a partisan hack job just doesn’t hold up, given the nature of the inspector general’s office … which is decidedly non-political.