And it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of pedophile-enabling authoritarian death cultists. WaPo:

Weeks before the Nov. 7 elections, the Mark Foley scandal and its aftermath have already had a visible effect on Republican prospects: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the two men leading the GOP efforts to keep power in the House, have both been largely sidelined from the public campaign.

Both leaders, however, have drastically curtailed their appearances this month after coming under fire for what critics have called an inadequate response to early warnings about Foley's behavior with House pages.

In the past week alone, Republicans have canceled nearly a dozen campaign events with Hastert and Reynolds. Rep. Don Sherwood (Pa.) -- who is one of the GOP's most endangered incumbents after revelations that his former mistress had sued him in Maryland, alleging assault -- told both men not to come to his district, forgoing crucial campaign dollars to minimize additional negative press. In addition, at least seven House GOP candidates have donated to charity nearly $20,000 in contributions that they had received from Foley before the scandal broke.

No wonder Bush is so cranky. He's having to work harder than usual, to pick up the slack.

Perhaps there is a God, after all. Read more…