foley, fairly

Wizbang has a comparison:

With the passing of former Congressman Gerry Studds (D-MA), I was disappointed to see that the Foley mess was... brought up yet again. After all, Studds' own sexual escapades with pages were often brought back up as a point of comparison for Foley's Folly.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that it was a pretty weak comparison. Both were certainly reprehensible, but they had far more in common with other scandals than with each other.

For example, let's look at what Gerry Studds did:

• Had sexual relations with someone nominally his subordinate
• Went to great lengths to conceal the relations
• Denied the relationship right up until confronted with proof
• When unable to deny it any longer, fully acknowledged it had happened
• Was fiercely defended by his fellow party members
• Ended up even more popular than ever, even lionized for his courage
• Almost certainly broke the law, either during the relationship or in trying to conceal it
• Retired "honorably," and was still highly regarded years after leaving office
• Was a highly regarded Democrat

Toss in a black beret and a cigar, and you have the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal in a nutshell.

Now, as regards to the Foley mess:

• Most-publicized offense was very clumsy sexual come-ons, not actual sexual congress
• Did not violate any existing laws, or at least skirted them
• Rapidly became a laughingstock and punchline to jokes
• Resigned in disgrace after being abandoned by his party
• Became a pariah
• Instead of either embracing the offense or admitting it as a personal failing, fell back on excuses such as alcoholism to "explain" the misconduct
• Backed many laws that helped greatly those he allegedly victimized

That sounded (familiar, then) it hit me: Mark Foley is the new Bob Packwood.