Sex for Sale in Washington

The case of the Washington madam has the nation's capital wondering who will be outed next. More Bush administration officials, promises ABC News, which is serving as the madam's gumshoe in return for a sensational story.

Already ABC has named Randall Tobias, deputy secretary of state who by day was enforcing the administration's anti- prostitution policy across the globe. By night he was paying the madam's $300-an-hour escorts. For massages, he says.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, indicted on prostitution-related charges, admits to sending young women to male clients but insists they were supposed to perform nothing more illicit than ``fantasy sex.''

Prostitution comes in many forms, especially in Washington. A prostitute is someone ``who sells one's abilities, talent, or name for an unworthy purpose,'' according to the second definition given in the American Heritage Dictionary.

Add to the items for sale one's position of influence, and you can see that prostitution runs rampant in Washington.

Lawmakers sell help to contributors. Policy makers tilt policy toward powerful constituencies. Officials run their corners of government to serve the White House instead of the general public.

Why stop with the Washington madam in our hunt for the illicit?