Cal Thomas hits part of the GOP's problem on the head in his latest column on the travails of David Vitter - though it appears he may have done so unintentionally:

Some in Congress stand up for family values, while they lie down with prostitutes. Their rhetoric may add to the cultural debate, but their behavior nullifies any credibility they might expect to enjoy. Anyone who can't impose morality on himself is unlikely to be successful in legislating it for others. (ea)

Which is precisely why, given that we're all flawed and imperfect human beings, the vast majority of Americans don't want politicians trying to "legislate morality" from Washington DC. - even if such a thing was possible, which it isn't.

This discussion goes well beyond sex. The Terri Schiavo case was an intrusion by Congress which, despite the fact it was supported by some Democrats, damaged Republicans most in the eyes of the public as the party willing to go out of its way to insert itself into intensely private, end of life discussions among families that had been sorted out through the state legal system.

That's one of the problems with the ad Mitt Romney released earlier this week. Romney strongly implies he would seek take legislative action as President in order to clean up the "cesspool" of "indolence and perversions" in which our children "swim." The sentiment of the ad may be well intentioned, but as John Hinderaker points out, Romney offers not a single clue or proposal as to how he would go about doing such a thing.

Romney says "if we get serious about this we can actually do a great deal to clean up the water in which our kids and grandkids are swimming." The question to Romney, then, is how would you do it?