I HAVEN’T PAID MUCH ATTENTION to the D.C. Madam story, but I agree with this:

I hate seeing people publicly humiliated for the sexual things they do in private. But the government is criminally prosecuting a woman, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, for what it says was a prostitution ring. These are federal charges, and the senator, David Vitter, has some responsibility for the laws that make this prosecution possible.

I would legalize prostitution if it were up to me. To some degree, it is up to Vitter, since Congress has authority over the District of Columbia. But it’s a crime, and he’s looking to get out with an apology. How about moving to make prostitution legal in the District instead? It would be an appropriate penance, and D.C. would be a . . . fitting . . . place to start.