By now, everybody with access to the media media has been bombarded with "news" about (now former) Congressman Mark Foley's online trysts with teenage boys. Every newspaper, radio show, television station, and blog is talking about it, using it to bolster opinion of one political party or another.

... and I do mean both political parties. If you were unsure of how Foley's acts could be spun to benefit the GOP, Mark Glesne, over at Truth, Life, and Political Honesty, has that covered.

But we should also be honest and commend Foley for stepping down from his position. Foley has taken responsibility for his actions and has begun putting himself through corrective measures.

Everybody's got an angle. Nevermind that Foley had been sited for similar behavior two years prior and didn't bother stepping down at that time.

A senior congressional aide said Wednesday that he alerted House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office in 2004 about worrisome conduct by former Rep. Mark Foley with teenage pages - the earliest known alert to the GOP leadership.

Kirk Fordham told The Associated Press that when he was told about Foley's inappropriate behavior toward pages, he had "more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest level of the House of Representatives asking them to intervene."

The media is the weapon of choice by any political figure, and it's rather entertaining to watch the two political strongholds battle it out... but when you boil it down, these huge organizations that are controlling the destiny of a global power are just having a pissing match. It is disturbing, however, to realize that the real game being played is manipulation. It's all a matter of influence.

Fox News, at the time of this writing posts the story iwth the "Foley Claims He Was Molested as Teen by Clergyman" tagline, perhaps to draw some folks away from the "Foley is a bad man" campaigning that the other news outlets are promoting.

ABC news, on the other hand, has the Foley story up with a "BREAKING NEWS" banner, and has also dedicated two of the five image slots on the home page to Foley related content.

Notably, NPR isn't playing the game, giving very little attention to the Foley story.

In any event, both sides of the political divide are turning the wheels of the great spin machine, hoping to come out looking and smelling better than the other party. But it's all ugly and it all stinks. As Lucaso points out, there are much more important issues at hand.