Over at Facebook, Bob Schaffer's son, Justin, yucked it up about Obama being gay and slavery being useful, views that he apparently didn't realize would embarrass his father, who's running for the U.S. Senate. But why would Justin realize such a thing? His father's Facebook page linked to his.

It was only after Justin's page went public – and Justin dutifully signed a sniveling apology – that Bob Schaffer announced that he and the wife would 'firmly punish' Justin, as if he was a rascally nine-year-old, rather than a 19-year-old college student whose smirky views reflect badly on Bob Schaffer's family values. We shouldn't be surprised that Bob Schaffer has yet to condemn the racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and homophobic views Justin published. You can read about the affair below (where the highlighting is mine).

As I've written before, personality-based attacks (such as calling Obama gay) are par for the course in the world of Bob Schaffer. Schaffer is a 1990s Republican who likes playing dirty. That's why he hired the Rovian Dick Wadhams to run his campaign. Wadhams has previously applied his underhanded tactics for the benefit of the campaigns of George 'Macaca' Allen in Virginia and Dick Thune in South Dakota.

This week, Wadhams performed his job and announced that he and Bob are "going to shove a bunch of 30-second ads up his ass on this issue over the course of the campaign." That was in response to an energy vote that Schaffer's opponent Mark Udall missed last Wednesday. Should Udall have missed the vote? Probably not. Is that how Bob Schaffer's constituents want Wadhams to talk? You can decide, but the evidence tells us that Bob Schaffer and Justin support Wadhams 100%. After all, Wadhams only expressed the hard sentiments that they all uphold, that is, when they're not pontificating on just the opposite.

Here's an example of the softer values that Bob Schaffer just can't manage to pass on to his son and campaign manager:

People who are worthy of our respect hold themselves to high moral standards in every area of their lives. When the camera is not rolling and they are behind closed doors, good people are faithful. Good people are kind to everyone, not just their friends. They know that wrong actions always hurt someone. They know that wrong deeds diminish the doer as well (Congressional Record, 14-Oct-98).

We can speculate on why Schaffer is unable to pass on those values to those who look up to him for direction, but it's most likely because he mouths pieties for show only.

Schaffer's Son Apologizes for Web Posts
The 19-year-old son of Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer of Colorado has apologized for an entry on his Facebook page that had the words "High Five... Who's Gay" over a photo of a waving Barack Obama.

It also had a picture of the Pyramids with the words "Slavery Gets (expletive) Done."

Justin Schaffer, a student at the University of Dayton, issued an apology Monday, calling the entries "offensive" and saying he alone was responsible. The statement says the materials "directly contradict the values that my parents taught me and are forbidden in my parents' home."

Bob Schaffer has said he and his wife decided on "firm punishment" for their son but declined further comment.

Schaffer's campaign opponent, Democrat Mark Udall, had no comment.