The orphan defense

You've heard the joke about the guy who killed both his parents and then threw himself on the mercy of the court because he's an orphan? That's how the revelation of Foley's claim of abuse at the hands of a priest strike me.

ADDED: Andrew Sullivan complains about coverage of the Amish school masssacre:

Here we have a case far graver than the Foley scandal, in which little girls had their legs bound and were shot in the head. The trauma of the event for the survivors must be unbearable and unending. It happened in a quiet corner of rural America. And yet it barely got airtime. Because it won't have any effect on the November elections. Which is an indictment of all of us.

Barely got airtime? Our local news channel had its own reporters camped out there, and its own helicopters. "The Today Show" opened with the story this morning. On what planet did this story barely get airtime?