Who is Foley trying to kid?

No pun intended.

The story: Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) sent emails from his personal AOL account to a 16-year-old former Congressional page, asking him how old he is and what he wants for his birthday, and requesting a photo of him.

The concerned young man alerted congressional staffers to the e-mails. In one e-mail, the former page writes to a staffer, "Maybe it is just me being paranoid, but seriously. This freaked me out."

…The e-mails were sent from Foley's personal AOL account, and the exchange began within weeks after the page finished his program on Capitol Hill. In one, Foley writes, "did you have fun at your conference…what do you want for your birthday coming up…what stuff do you like to do."

In another Foley writes, "how are you weathering the hurricane…are you safe…send me an email pic of you as well…"

The explanation: Congressman Foley’s office confirms he wrote the emails but claims they were “entirely appropriate and that their release is part of a smear campaign by his opponent.” The emails were “completely innocent” and “Foley is only guilty of being friendly.” Uh-huh. Also, it’s just their office policy to keep pictures of former interns, that’s all.

Let’s say that it is. Do they typically get copies of those pictures by personal requests from the Congressman’s personal email account? I doubt it.

And let’s also say, for shits and grins, that the Congressman was just “being friendly.” How many middle-aged men do you know that ask random 16-year-old kids what they want for their birthdays, and what “stuff” they like to do? Probably not too many, since most adults don’t give a flying shit about the daily happenings of teenagers they don’t know.

(Via.)