Irony Filled Story of the Week

Randall Tobias, the U.S. Director of Foreign Assistance for the Bush administration, recently resigned after being questioned by federal investigators regarding services he received from a Washington, D.C. escort service. (Along with his obviously outstanding morals, Tobias is married and has two children.)

The first irony is that, in his role as Director of Foreign Assistance, Tobias provided strategic direction and guidance to various foreign programs, including the promotion of sex education programs emphasizing abstinence. Second, when he previously served as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Tobias was responsible for managing all international HIV/AIDS funding and assistance provided by numerous agencies and departments of the U.S. government. In this position, he enforced a policy requiring all recipient countries to swear their opposition to prostitution and sex trafficking. (By the way, in an April 2004 speech, Tobias stated that "Statistics show that condoms really have not been very effective".) The fact that no conservatives are denouncing Tobias's behavior is a prime example of the hypocrisy common in the Republican Party. In fact, it is a perfect reminder of when Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned after exchanging sexually explicit e-mails with former Congressional pages, even though Foley had served as the Chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.