Lots of readers ask this question:

Subject: 3 out of 4 ain’t bad Jonah, Good thoughtful post on Foley this morning. I wish I could agree with you that this is evidence that America has moved to the right but I’m not convinced. When a Democrat is treated similarly I’ll buy it, but I’m afraid the different reactions to Studds and Foley is due to their party affiliations. Do you really believe the NYT, Andrew Sullivan, et al would be as outraged if Foley was a Dem?

Me: I’m reluctant to be so sweeping about this, but I certainly think the recent beatification of McGreevey shows that liberal gays are forgiven a lot more easily than conservative ones.