Sen. Rick Santorum has accused the Philadelphia Inquirer of having "outed" one of his staffers.

The Pennsylvania Republican made the charge on Fox's "O'Reilly Factor" last week after the Inquirer published a story headlined: "A Top Santorum Aide Is Gay."

Why on earth would the Inquirer run such a piece? Reporter Steve Goldstein, who was following up a story about the aide's sexuality on a gay Web site, noted that Santorum "has been an outspoken opponent of homosexual rights and a leading proponent of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage." But does that mean his staffers' private lives are fair game? (emphasis added)

Inquirer Editor Amanda Bennett calls the outing charge "nonsense." She says the aide (whose name is not being mentioned by this column) told the Web site that he was an "out gay man who completely supports the senator." The site called him a "self-loather."

"So we didn't out him," Bennett says. "It is being talked about in the context of one of the hottest contested races in the country." She says that perceived conflicts between a politician's positions and personal associations -- such as Vice President Cheney and his daughter, Mary, who is gay -- are a common subject of news stories.

The staffer, who says he's received death threats, notes that Santorum and his friends knew about his sexuality, but not everyone did. He questions why whom he chooses to sleep with should be thrust into the news in a way that heterosexual aides would not face.

Bennett responds that "lots of people are upset by lots of things we write." Santorum, who once said that legalization of gay sex could lead to bigamy and incest, told the paper it is "entirely unacceptable that my staffers' personal lives are considered fair game by partisans."

Howie, when a staffer is involved in eight years of bashing me and the people I love, you can bet it's relevant.

Death threats? That's serious business. I sure hope Traynham has reported those alleged threats to the proper authorities. I fully support Mr. Trayhnam in bringing to justice ANYONE who makes threats against him. (Incidentally, If such threats were made, I'd be willing to bet that they were made by right wingnuts, not people on the left)

All this excitement and the Democrats have not even picked Santorum's opponent yet. As for Ricky's charge that I reported on Traynham to assist challenger Casey... No dice. I never support candidates who don't believe a woman has the right to control her own body.