Pete Rose is a bad man, but a great baseball player. Why he's a great baseball player is obvious. Why he's a bad man may not be.
He's selfish.
He cares about Pete Rose first and foremost. In fact, I don't think he cares about anything else. Even his admitting he bet on baseball isn't real contrition. It's motivated, as are all things with him, by self-interest. He admitted it so he could be allowed in the hall, allowed to manage in baseball, and, probably mostly, to publicize his new book he wants to make millions off of.
The question is, should he be allowed in the hall? I believe he should. The hall should have as its requirement that you were a great player, not that you were a great man. So then the question becomes, should he be allowed to manage big league baseball? I say HELL NO. The guy's obviously motivated by self-interest, and letting him back into baseball would hurt the game more than it helps it. I'm not even talking gambling here (though I don't put that past him). I'm talking about him capitalizing on MLB to its detriment. How he'd do it (stealing memorobilia, receiving kickbacks), I don't know, but I see it as probable that he'll find a way. Especially after the luster and hype of him being reinstated wears off.
So - yes to hall, no to reinstatement. But, from what I can tell, here's the problem - in order to be eligible for the hall, you must be reinstated. It's a package deal. He either has to be kept out of the hall and not reinstated, or become eligible for the hall and be allowed to manage (should any team be dumb enough to hire him).
I hope Selig changes that rule. I hope he becomes eligible for the hall but NOT reinstated. But if that doesn't happen, I'm not sure which I'd prefer. I'd probably want him to become eligible for the hall anyway, even if it meant reinstatment, and hope that no one in baseball is dumb enough to hire him. That's probably a foolish hope though, because no matter what he's done in the past, or what kind of man he is, he'll put people in the seats. And that's all most owners care about.