Republican Scandal Level Approaches Self-Parody

Sen. Larry Craig's bathroom toe tap is only the latest in a seemingly endless string of scandal that has Republicans at wit's end, the NY Times reports. Such episodes are fueling voter suspicion of a party already tied to an unpopular president and the Iraq war. "We are approaching a level of ridiculousness," fumes one GOP activist.

Strategists are worried that with scandals such as Craig's and those of David Vitter and Ted Stevens monopolizing late-night TV monologues, the GOP could be recast in the public mind as not only a laughingstock, but unfit to lead. “If we had a coach, the coach would take us in the locker room and scream at us," says one insider. (More GOP stories.)