AP The fallen governor: James E. McGreevey.

His picture graces the cover of New York magazine with the headline, "Confessions of a Gay Governor," and an excerpt from his tell-all memoir, describing how his relationship started with his gay lover: "I leaned forward and kissed his neck. ... It was wrong. ... I wasn't an ordinary citizen anymore. ... But I took Golan by the hand and led him upstairs."

It has been two years since McGreevey first declared publicly that he was "a gay American" and had an affair with Golan Cipel, an Israeli poet and public-relations specialist he had hired as New Jersey's homeland security adviser. McGreevey's advisers said Cipel had blackmailed the governor; Cipel denies the relationship and the blackmail.

Corruption and adulterous affairs are nothing new in politics. So why has America been so riveted to McGreevey's story as the details have emerged over the past week, more than two years after he stepped down? Is it because he's gay? Is there simply an unlimited appetite for juicy political scandal?

With the recent release of McGreevey's new tell-all — "The Confession" — we break down the fascination with the former governor.

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THE AFFAIR

Sen. John McCain. President Bill Clinton. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. These are all confessed cheaters who are still political powerhouses, with little mention of their adulterous affairs.

But none of them was having an affair with another man.

"A heterosexual relationship, we've seen and done that," says Joe Marbach, a political scientist from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. "If McGreevey was heterosexual, people would have just said, 'Oh here's another one that was cheating on his wife.' It wouldn't have gotten this publicity. It's the novelty of the circumstances -- a politician coming out of the closet."

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THE CORRUPTION

AP A chat with Oprah.

Most Americans wouldn't care if he had just announced he was gay, Redlawsk says.

"If he had at some point said, 'You know, I am gay. I had been denying it,' and there was no corruption tied to it, he would have remained as governor," Redlawsk said. "The collapse came because he came out as being gay and corrupt."

You need the gay element and the alleged corruption, says David Rebovich, a political science professor from Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. Otherwise, McGreevey is just another ethically lapsed politician -- or a politician who had an affair.

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PROMISING POLITICIAN

Also a factor: McGreevey was a rising political star.

"He was a younger guy who had aspirations to run for vice president or U.S. senator," says Rebovich, who has known the former governor for 20 years. "Here was a guy in a large state who presented himself as this sort of mainstream, all-American guy -- attractive wife, a new baby. A couple of years later, he's resigning, and the country goes, `Oh my goodness.'"

McGreevey is also the first openly gay governor, if briefly.

"Because he is the first one, everyone wants to know what his story is about," Rebovich says.

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CURIOSITY

In his August 2004 announcement, McGreevey described his struggle with his sexuality and acknowledged a consensual affair with another man (he named Cipel later). But he never really explained the reasoning.

"We wonder how he got to that point -- why he did what he did," says Redlawsk. "Why did he throw away a rising political career?"

"A good number of citizens are saying, 'You're gay, now you're out and you're going to tell us what happened in your political career,'" says Rebovich, who has read the book and says he knew McGreevey was gay. "The book really does not do that, in all honesty. It's more a psychological self-analysis."

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REDEMPTION

The notion of redemption seduces an audience, says Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

"You're trying to get people on your side -- 'All I have got is the truth,'" Thompson says. "The redemption gives a structure to this story. It becomes a major tool in the holster of public relations."

Or, as Rebovich puts it, "He wants to set the record straight and present himself as a complex and tortured soul who has now begun to move beyond his earlier tormented self."

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THE MEDIA

According to Thompson, the news media is making this a story. "A lot of people are interested because they are being expertly told we should be interested," he says. The media is spinning this as a story of sin, suffering and redemption, Thompson says -- "Six Degrees of Separation," "The Sopranos," a soap opera.

McGreevey has a great team promoting him, says Alan Rosenthal, a professor of public policy at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

"When Oprah recognizes you, universal recognition isn't far behind," he says. "McGreevey is hot. In our culture, you get hot for a little while and you cool off quickly."

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Megan Scott is an asap reporter based in New York.

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