Time was when a Hawai'i politician got into trouble with the law, it was almost invariably a Democrat.

The simple answer is that for the longest time, if you were a politician, that almost had to be your party.

And over the years, while most folks served honorably and well, a fair number fell afoul of the law and had to leave their posts in disgrace, if not actually do jail time.

Thus local Democrats should resist the urge to engage in schadenfreude, or satisfaction in the misfortunes of others, over the recent rash of unpleasantries to befall the Republicans.

The wheel almost certainly will turn again.

For Gov. Linda Lingle, the titular head of the GOP in Hawai'i, these can't be pleasant days.

Lingle was forced into an embarrassing corner when she named Bev Harbin to replace Democrat Ken Hiraki, who resigned from the state House. Bad enough that Harbin was a recent convert to the Democratic Party and a recent resident of her district.

It then turned out that she had her share of legal troubles that somehow never came to the attention of the Lingle administration. Most embarrassing was an unpaid state tax lien, a circumstance that might not be unusual among struggling small-business people but just the wrong thing for someone intending to be a lawmaker.

Earlier, Maui Republican Brian Blundell was arrested on a misdemeanor sex charge but maintained his seat and even ran — unsuccessfully, as it turned out — for re-election while Lingle maintained a steady public silence.

Now Lingle must cope with the fallout of the unfortunate arrest and conviction of Waikiki Republican state Rep. Galen Fox on misdemeanor sexual assault charges. Fox has resigned.

Again, Lingle's approach was public silence, at least until the episode came out in the news media.

Lingle's reluctance to get publicly involved in the middle of these private episodes is completely understandable. Fox was a good legislator and loyal ally, and all that was on the record was a charge which he vigorously denies.

What Lingle is learning, as all top elected executives do, is that the rules are different in the no-holds-barred world of politics.

Take, for example, the actions of the White House after vice-presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby was indicted on a number of charges involving allegations that he lied about his role in the release of the name of an undercover CIA operative.

Libby denies he did anything wrong and says he expects to be exonerated. But in the hardball world of Washington, it was obvious Libby had no choice but to resign immediately, which he did.

In the best of all possible worlds, innocent until proven guilty and giving a guy a second chance should be the rules of the day.

Unhappily, at least in these kinds of circumstances, politics is far from the best of all possible worlds.

Jerry Burris is The Advertiser's editorial page editor.

Reach Jerry Burris at jburris@honoluluadvertiser.com.