Smearing Craig--not that there's anything wrong with that

This journo-centric report about the circumstances surrounding U.S. Senator Larry Craig's alleged sexual life is interesting.

First, the subject of the article "How Did News Outlets Miss Senator's Arrest for Nearly Three Months?," seems rather obvious to me. Absent the assistance of an arguably unprofessional police officer, there is little likelihood that this would come to light. And in all candor, I'm not inclined to hold it against a law enforcement type for tipping off journalists; then again, I'm a moralistic, fundamentalist, intrusive, mean guy. What's their excuse?

Next, the article considers at length what investigations or research had been done on this subject (Craig's sex life) over the years. I'm impressed with their zeal, but I'm wondering what exactly they were investigating. Well, obviously it's the crime of hypocrisy! The problem is that the "Hypocrisy Cops" only have eyes for so-called "social issues" (maybe we can call it "BHWR"--Being Hypocritical While Republican). But the beauty of all this--for Liberals, is that if you don't have standards at all (in the "social issues" area) then you don't get investigated. Sweet.

Beyond that, these investigative journalists get a pass for investigating this kind of conduct because, well, the majority of Americans think such conduct is disgusting (certainly Idahoans do--more about that below) . . . too bad said journalists cherry pick the disgusting activities they investigate.

Lastly, the details of the hunt for a reportable story on this subject bother me because they reflect the journalistic equivalent of "tattling." My wife and I believe that as parents we should provide to our children (as much as possible) the moral basis behind standards or rules we impose on them. As our family grew beyond one child, we began having to deal with the "Whining" subset of "tattling." But I couldn't readily put my finger on why it was unacceptable conduct . . . until I realized that "tattling" was reporting something about another person with the objective of gaining some advantage (an advantage over that other person, generally speaking). And that's what annoys me about this story (or, more precisely, the "back story" on this story); it has the smell of partisan/ideological witch-hunting. It will certainly hurt Larry Craig's reputation with Idaho voters, and therefore Republicans' efforts to gain a majority in the U.S. Senate, for this type of story to "come out."

As with "tattling" in the Williams home, though I'm often concerned about the offenses of "the other person," and though I typically must explore the motives of the tattler, at the end of the day I hate to encourage such behavior.