Americans tend to be a forgiving people. Republicans lost track of nine billion dollars during the Iraq reconstruction? Bah — a few dollars are bound bound to fall between the cracks. President Bush sat around eating cake while a city drowned? Well, it wasn’t the whole city — just the black part. American soldiers tortured and sexually abused some detainees? Oh, gee, that’s terrible, but it was just a few bad apples over there.

But this — this pedophilia scandal — this Americans will not forgive. Not when the victims were our boys, placed under the protection of adults who failed to safeguard them.

A few things seem clear to me: first, that despite Republican efforts to minimize the story, it’s not going to go away.

Second, Denny Hastert is going down. Someone is going to have to take a fall for this one, and even some conservatives agree that it should be him.

Third, the more Republicans dally, and gin up fake investigations, the worse it’s going to get for them.

Fourth, when it comes to security moms, “moms” comes before “security.” Witness this diatribe from conservative commentator Bay Buchanan:

Fifth, even before this Republican sex scandal, child predators were all over the news. Witness Oprah, who has made it her personal mission to stop child predators. Chris Hanson of Dateline NBC seems to be on TV every night, catching child predators as they close in on their prey. What will these television anchors, who have spent so much time and energy excoriating child predators, have to say about ex-Congressman Foley, and the Republicans in power who enabled him to continue harassing young boys?

Sixth, Iran, here we come.

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