Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and anything else on your mind.

Today's Article: No Spinning Past This Scandal (Post, Oct. 3)

The transcript follows.

Eugene Robinson is also author of " Last Dance in Havana: The Final Days of Fidel and the Start of the New Cuban Revolution ."

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Eugene Robinson: Hello, everybody. It should be a lively hour, because there's no shortage of news to talk about. Today's column was about the Mark Foley scandal, which continues to dominate the news -- the Washington Times, of all papers, called today for Dennis Hastert to resign as Speaker of the House. Last Friday's column was about George Allen and his continuing macaca-related problems. And in between, Bob Woodward's book came out and told us, well, that pretty much everything we feared about this administration and this war is true. As we speak, Condi Rice is still trying to remember that meeting in July 2001 at which George Tenet apparently sounded the alarm about al Qaeda...

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Bethlehem, Pa.: Sure, sure. The Republicans covered up Foley. End of story. What about your brethren -- the two newspapers who didn't run the story at all when they had it? One said it didn't want to make a gay Congressman look like a pedophile. And, the parents asked the Republican Congressman for whom the the page worked not to say anything.

Where's the tolerance you always yearn for? Face it, you'll jump on the Republicans at any opportunity, no matter if you haven't thought things through.

Eugene Robinson: The newspapers that didn't run the story dropped the ball too, in my opinion. The first e-mail that came to light was ambiguous, but a little digging might have led to the more explicit instant-message traffic with the other page, and almost certainly would have unearthed all this stuff we're now hearing about Foley's eye for very, very young men -- and his ongoing interest in the House pages. That failure, however, doesn't absolve the House leadership of its responsibility.

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Rockville, Md.: To me, the oddest part of the whole Rep. Foley scandal is that Foley was head of a House committee on missing and exploited teenagers, as yet this fact seems to be rarely mentioned. Isn't this a crucial aspect of the story?

Eugene Robinson: Actually, that fact gets mentioned a lot. Amazing.

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Crestwood, N.Y.: Good afternoon!

All this sudden belated attention to the obvious fact that the Bushies, especially Rice, were warned about the gathering menace of Bin Laden repeatedly, and did nothing for eight months because they had, to use Cheney's phrase, "other priorities."

Well, good morning, main stream media.

I seem to recall that dangerous radical leftist Michael Moore making this exact point in Fahrenheit 911.

Talk about a prophet without honor. Doesn't Moore now have the right to say "I told you so?"

And for the fiftieth time, why are we still getting better reporting from comedians and entertainers these days than from most of our so-called journalists?

Eugene Robinson: Sigh.

Michael Moore did make that point, as I recall. The Bush administration wasn't focused on al-Qaeda before 9/11. That's now abundantly clear.

I sighed because you are not getting better reporting from comedians and entertainers than from journalists. Where do you think the comedians and entertainers are getting the material for their bits? I love watching Stewart and Colbert, but I haven't seen either of them dodging roadside bombs in Baghdad or trying to pry information out of nervous sources at the Pentagon or the CIA.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm infuriated by the news clips I've seen of Tony Perkins (Family Research Council) and Newt Gingrich speculating that the House leadership may not have acted on the earlier Mark Foley allegations for fear or being branded "homophobic" or "gay bashers." Have others been saying this as well -- i.e. does it seem to be one of this week's GOP talking points? More to the point, since when has the Republican party EVER worried about the perception that their policies and actions are hostile to gay people?

Eugene Robinson: I think the answer to your last question would be approximately "never". I did mention this irony in the column today.

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Baltimore, Md.: Eugene: How out of touch with reality must Foley have been to put these thoughts of his into e-mail and IM form. After all the corporate malfeasance convictions based on recovered e-mail, you would think Foley and others would know that this stuff never really dies--especially if the recipient can save it to his hard drive or print it out.

And I wish, just once, some politician or celebrity would just get caught and says, "Whoops, ya got me," without having to check into rehab.

As an alcoholic with 20 years of sobriety, I actually get offended when people suddenly decide "the booze made me do it." The booze made me do a lot of stupid things (like lose jobs), but it never made me do anything of a sexual nature that I would not have done stone cold sober.

Eugene Robinson: Thank you. It's become standard procedure, when caught doing something wrong, to declare oneself an alcoholic or drug addict or sex addict or whatever. That's an insult to those who fight these addictions without being compelled to, say, steal public funds or put the moves on 16-year-old House pages.

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New York, N.Y.: Do you see any significance in Chris Shays statement that anyone in leadership position who knew about the Foley emails should step down? Is this perhaps an opportunity for more moderate Republicans to install more moderate Congressional leadership?

Eugene Robinson: The Republican caucus in the House is not moderate, and I doubt it will accept moderate leadership.

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Silver Spring, Md.: This morning on C-SPAN, one caller explained that the whole Foley scandal is really Bill Clinton's fault because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Former Defense Dept. Spokesperson Tori Clarke said that she "wouldn't connect the dots in that way" but did carry her disagreement with that assessment any further. Do you think that a "Blame Clinton, Gays, and Demon Rum" approach will work very well for the GOP at this point?

Eugene Robinson: Wow, I missed that one. I can't imagine what the connection might be. In any event, no, I don't think that will work.

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Richmond, Va.: Who's happier about the Foley scandal, Bush and Rove, because it gets Iraq and Woodward off the front pages, or the Democrats, because they don't have to offer anything to the electorate, hoping the Republicans continue to implode?

Eugene Robinson: From the way you know how to load a question, I'd say you have a promising future as an opinion columnist. Well done. I'd say the Democrats must be happier, because Iraq and Woodward are still on the front pages anyway. The book is flying off the shelves. I don't think the White House can be happy at all. For one thing, losing the House would mean that Democrats would be armed with subpoena power and could call hearings on extremely inconvenient topics.

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Baltimore, Md.: Liked your piece this AM, as I usually do.

But I'm confused as to why The Post and the other major papers aren't playing the following AP wire story up big time:

(AP) U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Monday that the Afghan war against Taliban guerrillas can never be won militarily and urged support for efforts to bring "people who call themselves Taliban" and their allies into the government.

The Tennessee Republican said he learned from briefings that Taliban fighters were too numerous and had too much popular support to be defeated on the battlefield.

"You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's accomplished, we'll be successful."

THIS IS NUTS! The Taliban started this whole thing off, before Flight Suit Boy sent our troops into Iraq. And now we're asking them to sit down at the table?

I wish I was making this up.

Eugene Robinson: I saw a wire on this but haven't seen a full story that explains what in the world might have been on Frist's mind. If this is a way of establishing his foreign policy credentials, he should stick to heart surgery.

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Fairfax, Va.: So this is what it takes to politically unite Americans: an unambiguously repugnant act of sexual predation by an adult politician against minors; a sort of poetical reality TV show that keeps everyone tuned in. Now both right and left want a pound of flesh.

But what about the political crimes of the current Administration ruining many, many more lives through imposed war policies, economic redistribution from the middle to the upper class, or continued denial of medical insurance coverage? Could a vigilant, bold media get people united against, for example, blatant manipulation of gas prices which as soon as the election is over will return to price-gouging levels? Or will it take a courageous politician, now nowhere to be seen, to help the voters recognize what the true political "reality" show is all about?

Eugene Robinson: I'm not sure exactly what you'd want the "vigilant, bold media" to do. The war has certainly been written about. Economic redistribution, through tax cuts for the rich, has been written about. The health insurance crisis has been written about. And it is easy to understand why people react more sharply to the Foley scandal than to any of the above. Anyone who has a 16-year-old son, daughter, niece, nephew, brother or sister can relate to the Foley story in a very personal way.

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Arlington, Va.: Senator Allen's paid speech last night asked the voters to forget character and consider the issues. Putting aside where he stands on issues as he tried hard not to decide whether he supported Bush or John Warner on the torture bill, the Foley mess and whether the White House lied according to Woodward leans me to believe that it is hard to forget the character issue.

Eugene Robinson: I thought that was a bizarre move on Allen's part -- people do consider character when voting, no matter what he advises; and anyway, he's fighting the tide of public opinion on a lot of the issues that people think are most important. I had assumed that Allen would probably eke out a slim victory anyway, even post-macaca, but now I think he must be really worried.

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Alexandria, Va.: I find it fascinating that the GOP and its right-wing media echo chamber think they can spin pedophilia. Tony Snow: "simply naughty emails." Ben Stein: "-Foley is a poor misguided Republican man who had a romantic thing for young boys. He sent them suggestive e-mail. I agree, that's not great." Matt Drudge: The "16 and 17 year old beasts" were "egging him on"

This reaction strikes me as nearly as bad as the crime. Do they think this will work?

Eugene Robinson: I can't imagine that this will work, and in fact it seems to particularly enrage some sectors of the Republican base. Tony Snow did a quick about-face -- by mid-afternoon he had dropped the "naughty e-mails" shtick and was furrowing his brow in sorrowful concern. I imagine somebody told him how his blithe dismissal of the whole thing had sounded.

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New York, N.Y.: Any idea on how Brian Ross got the info in the first place? He seemed to suggest to the NYT that he got it from a Republican, squashing the idea that this was a politically placed and well-timed scandal

Eugene Robinson: I don't know how he got the original tip, but I saw that same quote suggesting that it came from a Republican.

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Re: Sec. Rice: In the face of incontrovertible evidence from so many people that Sec. Rice was indeed warned about al Qaeda and a possible attack pre Sept. 11, can you explain how she can keep denying these truths? Is this sort of denials/can't remembers a set-in-stone strategy that allows the WH has to get away with so many of its tragic blunders -- and why the country seems to just let it go after a period of time?

Eugene Robinson: I don't know why Sec. Rice gave such a categorical denial when asked about that July 2001 meeting with George Tenet and Cofer Black. She went way out on a limb, and then her spokesman had to acknowledge that yes, said meeting did in fact take place. I don't know if this selective recollection is part of an organized strategy or not.

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Washington, D.C.: Re: the Fairfax, Va. post

You know I've been saying that it's a terribly sad commentary on our country that this sex scandal/possible crime is what it takes to rattle people. I suspect it will affect the GOP races this November, but this is not what it should take. It should take the American people saying, if you vote with Bush on everything, especially the war (since a huge majority of us oppose it), then I am NOT voting for you.

It's not the media people, it is the people...

Eugene Robinson: I see where you're coming from, but I have a slightly different take. The Foley scandal is not just a sideshow. I think it's a vivid illustration of how corrupt the Republican leadership in Congress has become, in the original sense of the word -- deteriorated, spoiled, debased. For whatever reason, either because of political calculation or an inability to function, no one bothered to investigate that first e-mail, which certainly should have sounded alarm bells. That's an important thing for people to learn about this Congress, it really is.

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Bethesda, Md.: It amazes me just how stupid members of Congress can be, sending these emails and IMs, and these are the people that are in charge of our government?

Eugene Robinson: Really. In part, it may be a generational thing. But at this point, even we ancient Boomers should know enough to assume that e-mails and instant messages basically live forever.

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West Palm Beach, Fla.: A little upset over the lack of nuisance in exploring the Foley scandal. Any pondering over why Foley would take up the issue of exploited children so vehemently? Appears to be in part out of guilt over his own self-deception. There hasn't really seemed to be much commentary on the different shades of Foley - principally the WHY behind the story. Any idea why he was so effective at being a good Congressman, while being an renegade human?

Eugene Robinson: As we speak, reporters are looking deeply into Foley's whole career -- the L.A. Times had an interesting piece this morning about longstanding rumors concerning Foley's interest in very young men. There will be more such stories, including some that will attempt to answer your "why" question.

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Cortez, Colo.: Mr. Robinson:

I enjoy your work. I am curious as to your assessment on what impact Woodward's book will have on how the GOP prosecute this war and whether or not the administration will finally be held accountable by Congress, i.e. answer the questions on the intelligence, what strategy do they have (the specifics). Will Congress finally perform their duties with respect to oversight? Will the public finally become so outraged that they will demand answers? Thank you.

Eugene Robinson: Thanks. I think the president has been clear. According to Woodward, he said he'll stay the course in Iraq (whatever that course might be) even if Laura and Barney the dog are the only ones who support him. This Congress has already demonstrated that it doesn't intend to oversee anything. And as for the public, that depends on... the public.

Thanks, everyone. My time is up for today, but I'll be back next Tuesday. See you then.

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