Your question implies that Mark Foley is somehow worse than all the others — of both parties — who have come and gone through the halls of Congress and who were not only accused of criminal behavior, but convicted of it. Some of them were guilty of crimes far more lurid, far more serious than Foley’s. Yet the government continues to function. Why should we expect it to be otherwise?
The institutions of our democracy — and the office of the presidency — can survive as long as there are good people in this country who know right from wrong and take action, whether the immorality they perceive is flirting with pages or intentionally leading people away from truth.
In my opinion, Speaker Dennis Hastert is as culpable as Foley for neglecting his obligation in this matter. I suspect we’ll hear more about what he knew and when he knew it. And no, it will not change my vote in November. I intended to vote for the Democrats long before this latest demonstration of a Republican leader’s inability to deal with the handwriting on the wall.
Kathy Kennedy
Orlando