Here’s ‘what about’ Roy Moore that is different

We’re having a severe outbreak of whataboutism.

In mild forms, the primary symptom is a vulnerability to false equivalencies. Virulent strains, such as the current one, can cause victims to lose all moral perspective.

.. The presumption of innocence has its place, of course — in a courtroom. But this isn’t about whether Moore should go to prison; it’s about whether he belongs in the Senate

.. Moore denies the allegations of sexual misconduct but has not denied that he was involved with girls half his age when he was in his 30s.

.. That’s why Republican Ed Gillespie, in his Trump-style gubernatorial campaign in Virginia, ran an ad falsely accusing his opponent, Democrat Ralph Northam, of calling “restoring the rights of unrepentant sex offenders one of his greatest feats.” An ad by an outside group asked: “Does a convicted sexual predator work near your child? Ralph Northam doesn’t want you to know. . . . Tell Ralph Northam. Protect our children. Not predators.”