Mr. Wikileaks announced from the Ecuadorian embassy in London—where he's still holed up to avoid extradition—that he will run for a seat in the Australian senate, both to push his agenda of government transparency and "as a defence against potential criminal prosecution in the United States and Britain."

The US has a long and distinguished history of federal politicians getting themselves convicted, but I can't think of one who ran for office to avoid conviction.

Regardless, an Assange campaign has some obvious advantages. He has serious name recognition, a clear and unambiguous platform, a proven record of taking principled stands, a flair for showmanship—and, best of all for a campaign manager, the sex scandal is already out there. It's been digested and (mostly) forgotten by the body politic.

The best defense against a smear campaign is having nothing left to hide.