This piece helped me understand how, Gray, who had seemed respectable and in control as Council Chair, ended up with the mayoral campaign from hell that has come back to bite him in the ass. Nnamdi describes the unique circumstances of DC political culture and the specific circumstances of the Gray campaign that made it prey to the worst excesses of it. Worth a read:

I still think that Gray is a decent and thoughtful man, but he stands at the center of a political culture that is corrupt and broken.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-dc-became-a-district-of-corruption/2012/07/13/gJQA1ZhiiW_story.html