Disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) had a special interest in the House page program, AP reports:
Former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., told House pages in warm farewell speeches over the years that he took “a special interest in each and every one” of them, identifying many of the youngsters by name and thanking them for their service.
Foley, who resigned Friday after being questioned about sexually explicit e-mails to former pages, gave the speeches during traditional June ceremonies honoring them in 2001, 2002, and 2004, according to the Congressional Record. . . .
“I did not know they made boots that size. How much hair gel have you used today, Robert? Ryan was the other one. I did not recognize that color hair when you left here on Friday,” Foley said. “I will leave that name off. I did not know you wore an earring. Does your dad know, or mom? No, not really.”
In one speech cited by AP, Foley also describes taking one of the male pages to lunch at Morton’s steakhouse in his BMW. The page had made a winning bid for “lunch with Mark Foley” at a House page event.
