Republican Page Scandal:Gay=Predator

I have nothing to add to the multiple commenters on this from the blogs to the right of this page; the initial revelation is bad enough, but what makes it really significant (from a national point of view) is the appalling initial concealment of the activity, and the subsequent cover-up.

This, however, via Glenn Greenwald, is pretty pathetic:

After reviewing the fact that Hastert was told months ago about the e-mails sent by Foley to the 16-year-old page (a fact which Hastert first categorically denied and -- after Reps. Reynolds and Boehner both said they told Hastert -- he now claims not to recall), Hinderaker offers this defense of Hastert:

I've never been Speaker of the House, but I can imagine that such a conversation would not be among the most significant Hastert has had in the last year, and would not necessarily make a deep impression. Foley was, I take it, generally assumed to be gay.

Hinderaker then devotes two paragraphs to discussing the cases of Gerry Studds and Barney Frank -- two other gay Congressmen involved in sex scandals (with individuals of legal age) -- and Hinderaker then says:

So I'm not particularly surprised that Foley wrote some "over-friendly"--I'm sure I would find them creepy--emails to one or more underage pages.

So as best I can tell, this is Hinderaker's defense: Hastert knew that Foley was gay, so it would hardly have been a surprise to Hastert to learn that Foley was harassing underage pages. Hastert is a very busy and important man and something as unsurprising as the fact that the homosexual Foley was a sexual predator pursuing underage pages would hardly have been news to Hastert and certainly isn't anything that should have prompted his attention. A gay Congressman pursues minors, the sun comes up in the morning. That's just the way the world works. Why would Hastert take notice?

So, as far as Hindraker (of the Powerline blog) is concerned, a man lusting after young boys is standard operating procedure for a gay person, and nothing to be surprised at. Pedophile == gay, and vice-versa, case closed.

I just don't know what to say; draw your own conclusions and let me hear them in comments.