The World Turned Upside Down

Brian Ross reported on the oddest thing on Friday night. A deputy secretary of state resigned after he'd been a confirmed client of a Washington escort service. Randall L. Tobias had previously held the position of the Bushies' AIDS czar, where he tended to push abstinence over condoms or proper sex education. Appropriately, he claims that he never had sex with any of the escorts he hired through the "Pamela Martin and Associates" service. All this comes to light because Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the woman who ran the escort service, is up on federal charges of racketeering. She's also facing down accusations of soliciting and is quickly becoming known as the "Washington madam." She's expected in court on Monday morning, and although they may not come quickly, she's also promising to call Tobias and other more prominent officials. A sex scandal is strictly Democratic territory, and so far we've only got Republicans involved--what's going on here? We may not have to wait until various unidentified officials appear in court--she's given Ross a list of her clients, and she's reportedly already taped an interview set to appear Friday on 20/20 (just in time for sweeps). Will there be Democrats involved, allowing politics to make sense once again, or will Republicans remain the focus? We can only speculate for now. The Washington Post has more background but little new to move the story forward. Will Brian Ross keep a lid on the story until Friday night? My bet is no, but that also presumes that Washington reporters go out and start digging all by themselves. Palfrey already told the Post that she was only talking to Ross, so if the Washington press corps is waiting for their phone to ring, they may be disappointed.