crystal Ball photo
Krystal Ball
What does her political future hold?Krystal Ball, a 28-year-old Democrat running for Congress in Virginia, just got initiated into the dirty world of politics. "Racy" photos of Ball, who is challenging the GOP incumbant Representative Rob Wittman, were leaked on the Internet.

The photos show Ball in costume at a 2004 Halloween party, and she's wearing ... a Santa Claus hat.

Ooh.

Okay, so her outfit is slightly racier than that (those photos are coming up), but not much.

Ball, now married and mom to a toddler, was 22 at the time the photos were taken and she's doing nothing illegal -- or even all that raunchy. It's also pretty obvious she's hamming it up for the camera.

And if she were being drop-dead serious, does a penchant for S&M or other sexual proclivities affect one's ability to govern? Not based on the sex records of  _______ (fill in your favorite male politician here).  

Ball responded to the leak on her Krystal Ball for Congress site:

"These photos are of me and my ex-husband at a holiday costume party. They are around six years old, when I was about 22. Of course, I am embarrassed by these photos, that was the whole point of these political operatives when they put them up. But more than just embarrassed, I’m angry!. I’m angry that when we are suffering from high unemployment, record budget deficits and a broken education system, that crass political operatives will resort to the politics of personal destruction when they can’t talk about the issues. This is not a way to conduct a political campaign and the people of the first district of Virginia and of the United States are disgusted by these kinds of tactics. It’s sexist and it’s wrong, regardless of political party. And I have a message for any young woman who is thinking about running for office and has ever attended a costume party with her husband or done anything stupid on camera. Run for office. Fight for this country. Don’t let this sort of tactic deter you."

She's right, but what did she expect? You don't need a crystal ball to tell you there's going to be dirty tactics and sexism on the campaign trail.

Oh, and here are those Krystal Ball photos.