On his Palm Beach County, Fla.-based radio show, “Foley on Politics,” former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley wasn’t afraid to talk sex scandals with Politics Daily columnist Emily Miller on Tuesday night.
The Florida Republican is no stranger to scandal and scrutiny. He resigned in disgrace in 2006 after several congressional pages came forward to accuse him of sending them sexually charged instant messages.
During the show, Foley called Tiger Woods his “new role model” because he said “he’s back to work in six months after his devastating scandal.”
On John Edwards, he said, “What’s odd for me is that I am brought up in the media more than he is, and I wasn’t anywhere near the presidency.
“I mean, when I hear about sex scandals, every one that occurs, even Tiger Woods, they go, ‘It reminds us of Mark Foley,’ and sometimes you wonder, ‘OK, all right already,’ ” Foley continued.
Foley criticized Edwards for his ethical decisions, such as how he had a secret mistress while Elizabeth Edwards had cancer. He also talked about Edwards’ mistress, Rielle Hunter, posing for GQ.
In terms of the ethical choices of politicians, Foley said, “I hope people will look at the humanity aspect of it, the human nature that you are representing the very people that sent you here. Not that we’re all robotic, but that the human frailty, the weaknesses, no one’s perfect.”
Foley was in Washington on Wednesday for the annual Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner as a guest of Talk Radio News Service.
This was his first public appearance in Washington since his resignation.
