Graham Platner ended his bid to represent the people of Maine in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday night.

He would have done well to begin his consideration with earnest engagement with the Bible.

Really.

Specifically, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, verse 17, where it says: “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”

Now more than ever, every candidate must be warned again about this truth and then again and again. Indeed, it’s inevitable for every candidate in every race in which any opponent has the means to dig deep.

Every would-be candidate ought to subject himself or herself first to the gauntlet of self-scrutiny and then to a gauntlet of “friendly” professionals who specialize in digging up “opposition research.”

If an unflattering story exists, it can be found, and it will be found. And it will be on every front page.

Platner’s saga is already a tale worth telling.

“Nothing that is secret will not be revealed.”