Foley, Foley, And More Foley

The left side of the blogosphere is going absolutely nutso about the Foley resignation. As of this writing, seven of the last twelve post in KosLand has been about Foley. It's pretty clear that Foley is a sick perv who got exactly what he deserved. The real question surrounds what the House leadership knew and when they knew it. Of course the left has already decided that it's a clear cut case and Denny Hasert and the entire House leadership should be run out of town on a rail. The facts, or lack thereof, of course tell a more ambiguous story.

I'll let those facts shake out before passing judgement. I've always been apathetic towards Denny Hasert as Speaker of the House. He seems like a nice guy, and as a former teacher if he really knew the perversity of Foley's exploits I have a hard time believing he would simply look the other way.

As far as the possible fallout and impact this story has on the elections, I don't see a lot to it. Of course that could change if it turns out that the House leadership was complacent in the matter, but as of now I don't see it. The story involves sex, so of course the press will cover it in the most sensationalist fashion possible. And right now the dems are taking full advantage of the situation, which of course I don't blame them for doing. In the end, however, I suspect once again they'll over-play their hand on this, because they have nothing else to offer, and within a week or so barring any further incriminating developments it'll be back to business as usual as we head down the home stretch leading to the November elections.

To be continued...

UPDATE: I found this headline from ABC News blog, the Blotter, very interesting:

E-mails Show Foley Sought Rendezvous with Page

My understanding is that there are two completely different issues between emails and Instant Messages. The emails, while creepy, are not explicit and didn't warrant any disciplinary action against Foley. The IMs, on the other hand, are perverse and may land Foley in jail. It's a very sloppy piece written as if they want to blur the line and confuse the story. Big surprise? NOT!