Ashley Todd Gets Off With Probation

Ashley Todd, the 20 year-old McCain campaign worker who falsely claimed she'd been attacked by a black mugger/Obama supporter, has struck a deal in which she will be on probation for one year, provided she gets mental counseling.

Under the agreement, her criminal record will be expunged after if she stays out of trouble and gets mental treatment on probation. Most people spend a year on probation in the program, which is for first-time, nonviolent offenders. "Our focus was really, 'This is somebody who appeared to have some mental issues,'" said prosecutor Chris Avetta. "And we wanted to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or anybody else." Todd's public defender, Emily McNally, declined to comment.

Unbelievable. I know she's out of her gourd, but what Todd did seems worthy of more than this slap on the wrist. I'm also not crazy about how the McCain campaign manager who called the media to trump up the story is also coming out of this unscathed. Race baiting: standard operating procedure for the McCain campaign.