Ethics

Mister Family Values

The Freeh Report commissioned by Penn. State University revealed that there was a concerted effort by school officials to obfuscate and obscure Jerry Sandusky's actions. The report also revealed that Joe Paterno was well aware of Sandusky's actions and that he personally persuaded the school's athletic director not to inform authorities.

The report's findings resulted in the school removing the statue of Joe Paterno from campus and the unprecedented sanctions levied by the NCAA.

Apparently none of that matters to former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum who today took on the role of Penn State apologist.

SANTORUM: I actually read the Freeh Report. I don’t know if you did or not, but I did. And, my concern with the Freeh report, a lot of the conclusions in the Freeh report aren’t matched by the evidence that they presented and so I’ve been talking to a lot of folks at Penn State and they say, ‘you’re just gonna have to wait for the criminal trial of these two guys at Penn State.’ I think there is going to be a whole new line set on what really went on there. So I’m sort of sitting back and waiting for the facts to come out as opposed to at least I’m being told is a version of the facts. … Let’s get the truth. So I think we’re going to see some things come up a little different in the next six months. I just want to make sure we get it right.

On the other hand, the trials of former Penn State officials may reveal even worse information.

The Freeh Report examined over 3 million emails and over 400 interviews before reaching its conclusions. But Rick Santorum is still waiting for the facts to come out. You know, the real facts. The non-existent ones that exonerate Holy Joe.

We know that contempt for the historical record, a denial of accountability, and the derision of basic, fundamental governance doesn't stop at the water's edge, but apparently it doesn't stop at the edge of child sexual abuse either. At least not if the condemned are representative of what modern society now holds more dear than morality.

Family values indeed.