As Tom G pointed out, everyone has done something stupid in their youth. Call it the callowness of youth, if you will. Most of us learn from these mistakes.

However, it's one thing to have done foolish things in your bygone years. It's something else entirely when that foolishness continues to mark your character and behaviour IN THE PRESENT DAY. This is the issue with George Allen who keeps tripping himself up every time he opens his mouth, and revealing himself for the racist thug that he is. Every time he opens his mouth, he shoots himself and his campaign in the foot. At this rate, Jim Webb will be able to run unchallenged. You would have to be in complete denial not to see that the "macaca" comment, and the hyperreaction to the comment about his Jewish heritage were coming from a place of deep hostility. George Allen wants, with all his heart to be something that he isn't. Something is seriously off with this guy. And now he thinks he can be president. Of course, the parallels between this George and the other George are rather striking here. I wonder if this George thinks God talks to him, too.

No, my friend, it would appear that the Senator (with his perfectly coiffed hair, much like Senator Sanctimonius from PA) from MS is actually every bit as stupid and bigoted as he sounds. Never mind the mea culpa he made on BET a while back when he was longing for those joyful days when "those people" (black people, women and other kinds of brown people) knew their place. You remember. Back when he was saying that the country wouldn't have had "all these problems" if they'd just seen reason and elected Strom Thurmond President. Even the president, who, by several degrees is worse than Strom Thurmond would've been, wouldn't get behind Sen. Trent on that issue. Yes he is every bit as stupid, every bit as clueless, every bit as racist as he sounds. When I think about this, I shouldn't be surprised at all at the mess we're in. Look who we have representing us. I'm sure good, God-fearing Republican white folk in MS are just cool with Sen. Lotts of Rocks, but I'd wager that the rest of MS aint too pleased with their representation thus far. They're not alone.

What more needs to be said?

GROSS!

SICK!

TWISTED!

And as one might think, characteristically HYPOCRITICAL.

As is the Republican standard.

I would laugh but this involves a kid. It's not at all funny.

It really is of no consequence whether Congressman Foley is gay or not. Most, in fact, the lion's share of gay men are not pedophiles or closet pedophiles like the good congressman from FL. His sexual orientation is irrelevant here. What he has is a problem that could have him labeled a sexual predator. He's resigned from the House which is the right thing to do. I hope he continues to do the right thing and seek help. It's one thing to notice how attractive a teenager is or can be. Acting on that attraction is completely something else when the person is an adult and in a position of power like a US Representative. If the "alleged victim" were an underage female it would still be inappropriate. And it would still have an "ick" factor.

Ye Gods!

A not even a little attractive 52-year old Republican asking some teenaged intern if he inspires...lust?

If this doesn't give you a picture of the depth of the filth that exists in the current Republican party, then nothing else will. Then here's Mike DeWine of OH saying this is just "terrible", when his ties to hypocrisy and corruption are well known, and most telling, he was unwilling to commit to the idea of any person who knew about the emails resigning. So one could get the idea that Sen. DeWine is willing to tolerate corruption and the presence in government of known sexual predators like Mark Foley. No wonder his re-election bid is in such trouble. Clearly people in OH and around the country are getting tired of this turning a blind eye towards not just plain corruption, but rank and stinking depravity.

How stupid does he think we are?

OF COURSE we're going to look at news of this tawdry episode with the FL congressman and connect the dots to a larger pattern of corruption. Already the GOP spin machine is trying, desperately I'm sure, to change the subject. Except that they're not finding too many places to go. The torture bill got a lot of press, but the attempt to smear Democrats as soft doesn't seem to be taking. There's the NIE report, the fact that Sen. DeWine of OH knew about it long before it ever came out, which suggests others knew too. There's the new book by Woodward that basically says what we all know, that Bush wasn't entirely truthful with the American public about the war in Iraq. There's President Clinton taking the FOX news people to task, and from where I sit, there are too many fires to put out. Leave alone the fact that George Allen can't seem to outrun the racist label. Leave alone the fact that Conrad Burns of MT is imploding over charges of accepting bribes for votes. Everywhere one looks in the GOP one finds corruption, depravity, influence peddling, outright falsehoods, and secrets coming home to roost. From my perspective, Karl Rove has set off too many bombs, lit too many fires and now is in danger of torching the entire GOP. If they were smart, they'd fire his ass NOW.

But they aren't that smart. They're arrogant and hypocritical, and now their collective ass is getting bit HARD.

Pride goes before a fall, and a haughty spirit before destruction.

The Book of Proverbs.

The irony of this should not be lost on anyone here in the Salon.