Mike McGavick has taken the unusual step of posting an open letter on his blog in which he preemptively confronts a number of mistakes in his personal and professional life, including a 1993 DUI charge. McGavick writes:

I know that the character attacks against me will not stop. So, how about I just tell you directly the very worst and most embarrassing things in my life for you to know, and then I will get back to talking about how much the U.S. Senate needs a new direction.

Here it is: I have lots of faults, and I have made some mistakes that I deeply regret.

In my personal life I reflect on two great failures:

Most important, my first marriage ended in divorce, and as a result my eldest son, Jack, grew up with me as a "part-time" dad.

Those who have gone through a divorce know the pain and special challenges of raising a child under such circumstances. I am happy to report that my former wife, Kim Rainey, and I did a good job of staying focused on Jack's well-being and parented successfully (thus far!). Admittedly, Kim carried the lion's share of the burden (as so many moms do), but she was a great help in assuring that I would have a constant role in Jack's life. Jack is now 18, off to college, and is a kind and well-rounded young adult. I am especially pleased by how my younger sons look up to their big brother Jack, an environment fostered by my wife Gaelynn.

The second terrible mistake, which was difficult to discuss with my teenage son, was that I was cited for DUI when I cut a yellow light too close in 1993. I was driving Gaelynn home from several celebrations honoring our new relationship and should not have gotten behind the wheel. Thankfully, there was no accident, but it still haunts me that I put other people at risk by driving while impaired. All in all, it was and remains a humbling and powerful event in my life.

McGavick also discussed the DUI in an interview with the Associated Press yesterday. The Seattle Times reports that, "McGavick told The Associated Press that he blew .17 percent on the blood-alcohol meter -- well above Maryland's legal intoxication threshold."

McGavick ruined the confessional mood by declaring that the disclosure wasn't a "campaign tactic." It clearly was a tactic - and probably a very smart one at that. In 2000, we saw what hiding a DUI can do when it's revealed days before election day. By getting it out in the open (on a Friday at the end of August, no less) with more than two months left before the vote, it essentially becomes a non-issue for McGavick and strips his opponent of a potential October Surprise.

The only way this can hurt McGavick is if there is something else in his background that turns up between now and November 7. Then, having gone out of his way to confess to voters "the worst and most embarrassing moments" of his life, McGavick would look doubly bad - and he would pay for it dearly at the polls. But as things stand, this is a very shrewd political move and another example of why McGavick is such a formidable challenger to Cantwell in Washington state.

(For more on the Washington Senate race, visit the RCP Election 2006 Page).