A term is awaiting invention. Just as "McCarthyism" and "Willie Horton" entered the political vocabulary to denote long-standing tactics, someone is going to coin a term to identify something that now can be described by phrases like, "Moralizing based not on morals but on political advantage." It is exemplified by Republicans who felt that Whitewater was a scandal of epic proportions that demanded full investigation and prosecution, especially of those in the Oval Office, whereas Enron can be explained away as an acceptable aberration of the Free Market. It can also be typified by Democrats who thought the affront of the decade was when Republican congressional leaders would not allow bills that might pass to be voted upon, whereas Tom Daschle is a hero for blocking a vote on the so-called "stimulus package." We could all name another dozen examples on both sides of the aisles.
(Another term we need is for when they give a bill a name like "The Economic Stimulus Package" or "The Patriot Act" so they can argue that anyone who opposes it for any reason is against economic stimulation or patriotism. I forget his name but, years ago, some Congressguy was suggesting that he might name every bill he proposed, regardless of contents, "The Act To Stop Puppy Slaughter." The premise was that no one would dare oppose it, thereby giving their opponents the chance to run ads that said, "He voted against The Act to Stop Puppy Slaughter.")
Getting back to the first one: Is there a person in this country who doubts that Democrats look the other way, or come up with tortured rationales when Democrats misbehave? That Republicans adjust their indignation according to whether theirs political capital to be made? Of course not. (When I asked that question once on a panel discussion, someone in the audience proclaimed that his party didn't do that but the other guys did, all the time…thereby proving my point.)
So how come we don't have an easy, one or two word term for this? I'm nominating "Bennetting," in honor of lawyer Bob Bennett, who did it constantly for his client, Bill Clinton, and also for his brother, public scold Bill Bennett, who never met a Democratic lapse that wasn't an outrage or a Republican mountain of immorality that couldn't be made a molehill. I think it's a good name because it reminds us that no party has an exclusive on the practice, but I'm open to other suggestions.