Walt Hodiak idealistic traitor

Walt is an unrealistically idealistic young man. He isn't a stupid man, he has the intelligence to understand what the range of penalties for treason include. But he seems to block the ramifications of his actions out of his mind.

"I don't care. What our government is doing is wrong. The President is lying to the American people and they have a right to know."
That is Walt's response when his dad Sam drives home the point that sharing classified information is treason. Sam tells him that governments have to lie, especially during wartime.
After all, what is classified information but information the government keeps secret; information the government lies about to everyone.

But Walt is adamant that he doesn't care what the punishment is. Nothing is more important than exposing the classified information he has stolen... So he rejects the deal his dad arranges to keep him out of prison or worse and releases the classified information to the media.

Later when he goes to prison he is singing a different tune. He is crying to his dad that he cannot stand prison and needs to get out. Isn't there some kind of deal he can make?

Like I said, Walt is a smart young man. So I cannot understand him acting this way. He is smart enough to know prison really sucks. He is smart enough to know he could even get the death penalty for that matter. He knows full well what his oath meant. He is smart enough to realize that in war you cannot reveal everything you are doing or planning to do publicly.

I understand him disagreeing with government policy in the war. Lots of soldiers think government policies are crap. But the self delusion involved in saying he didn't care what happened to him is unbelievable.
When he was crying in prison I could not feel sorry for him. I felt sorry for Sam, but not Walt.