 | ||
 | GOP fears for credibility after scandals | |
| Politico Playbook: 'Rip-snorting' | |
| Flynt, Palfrey target D.C. 'hypocrisy' | |
| McCain drain: Inside the implosion | |
| No more second chances in politics | |
| The PM Line | |
| McCain's Other Problem | |
| '08 Notes: Going On 60 | |
| The Roundtable Weighs In on McCain | |
| The Daily 2008 |
| Why McCain Will Drop Out | |
| Why McCain Won't Drop Out | |
| Supreme Court's Education Ruling is a Real Opportunity for Progress | |
| We Can Bring The Troops Home (w/audio) | |
| The Senate: Chamber of Shame |
|
July 11, 2007
Madam Morality
By Maggie GallagherIn a pre-emptive strike against the inevitable, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., just volunteered that his old phone number appears in the voluminous records that the now-famous D.C. Madam, Jeane Palfrey, has thoughtfully posted on the Internet -- all with the highest motives, mind you:
"The overall validity of the records' contents will be diminished when one false accusation after another begins to manifest," she announced. "Therefore, to thwart any possible distorted version and to ensure the integrity of the information, the records -- in their entirety -- are available for downloading."
Plus, she noted helpfully: "It will take a small army of people skilled in computer and phone technology, investigation as well as factual knowledge regarding the significance OR non-significance of identified persons. No one individual or entity will be able to connect all of the dots. The overall endeavor easily could take many months, if not years to research and report conscientiously."
In other words: Let the netroots at 'em!
Palfrey's new conscientiousness comes on the heels of a May "20/20" interview in which she made it clear to prosecutors, pols and public alike that she wasn't going down alone:
"I told them to go to hell. Absolutely, they could go to hell with their deal. I sure as heck am not going to be going to federal prison for one day, let alone, you know, four to eight years here, because I'm shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever. Not for a second. I'll bring every last one of them in if necessary."
O tempore! O mores! (Latin for "Ah, back in the good ol' days"). No, I'm not talking about the morals of Cajun politicians (isn't their traditional standard "live boy or dead girl"?) but the shocking decline in the professional standards of the average working girl.
"I just keep my head high," Palfrey said. "You know ... I ... I've got something in me. What that is .. it's ... it can't be defined, but there's something in me that won't let 'em get away with it. And I'm not going to let these bastards get away with it."
You go, girl. But whatever happened to the prostitute with a heart of gold?
Apparently she's migrated into the body of Mike Jones, the call boy from Denver who brought down Ted Haggard. He's out promoting his new book, "I Had Something to Say: The Art of Ted Haggard's Fall." But Mike, by his own account, is a spiritual guy with a big heart, hugs and healing hands for weeping clergy with secrets to hide from their wife, kids and congregation.
So how did he feel about outing Haggard? "I've been with some pretty famous people, and I would never out them," Jones insisted to The New York Times Sunday Magazine, which profiled him. "This was a unique situation. Here is Ted preaching about being shameful -- you won't see the kingdom of God if you're gay, and blah, blah, blah -- and then he sneaks around with me."
Adultery, prostitution, crystal meth? The Mike Joneses and Jeane Palfreys of the world draw the line at hypocrisy .
Once upon a time, a gentleman could count on the discretion of the professional -- bolstered by the credible threat of public shaming. But now? O tempore! O mores!
Is nothing sacred?
