On the eve of his most recent sentencing tomorrow, infamous former lobbyist Jack Abramoff did his best to explain his scurrilous past actions to the court. In a letter to Federal Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, Abramoff described himself as "not a bad man . . . although to read all the news articles one would think I was Osama Bin Laden."

Last week, the prosecution asked for lenient sentencing for Abramoff on account of his cooperation with prosecution.

From Abramoff's letter:

. . . And almost every day of the two years I have been in jail, I have spent time thinking and worrying about how I might tell you and convince you that I understand my acts and have been doing all I can to make up for them.

. . . I am not a bad man (although to read all the news articles one would think I was Osama Bin Laden), but I didmany bad things. I lied to clients, even while working to get them the results they expected. I cheated my law firm and took advantage of public officials.

. . . If I ever can earn more than a mere living again, I will be paying back those I have harmed for the rest of my life.

Well he can always fall back on teaching.