Foley Follies

I know I'm not the only one who wonders why former Florida Congressman Mark Foley's attorney felt the need to announce that Foley is gay.

Who cares? It isn't relevant to Foley's behavior.

And for the attorney to toss it out there during damage control press conferences suggests that he thinks people need to consider Foley's sexual orientation before they judge him for his sexually-charged IM exchanges with teenagers.

That logic flies in the face of standard non-partisan doctrine that says all men should (in theory) get equal treatment regardless of race, age, religion, gender, orientation, etc.

If you think it was an important point for Foley's attorney to make, just ask yourself how you'd have reacted if an Asian dude had exchanged creepy messages with minors, gotten caught, quit his job, and then his attorney issued a public statement that said "My client wants you to know that he is a Chinese man."

I know how most of you would respond. You'd go nuts - justifiably so, I think - and ask "Who cares?"

Unless, of course, the attorney was suggesting the man's race/ethnicity had something to do with why he behaved badly.