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By Thomas Burr
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:10/07/2006 02:00:03 AM MDT

WASHINGTON - Rep. Chris Cannon on Friday attempted to clarify public comments he made a day earlier seeming to blame teenage congressional pages in the unfolding scandal of former Rep. Mark Foley of Florida.
"These kids are actually precocious kids," Cannon, R-Utah, told KSL Radio's "Nightside" program. "It looks like, uh, maybe this one e-mail is a prank where you had a bunch of kids sitting egging this guy on."
Cannon, who has defended House Speaker Dennis Hastert's handling of the scandal, also said Thursday that there is not much to do other than educate kids to the dangers of going online.
"Frankly, this is the responsibility of the parents," Cannon said. "If you get online, you may find people who are creepy. There are creepy people out there who will do and say creepy things. Avoid them. That's what you have to do. And maybe we can say that a little more to the pages."
Democrats reacted to the comments with disgust.
"It's outrageous and irresponsible," said Christian Burridge, a Democrat challenging Cannon in the 3rd Congressional District. "You have a district here with the most children in the United States in a congressional district and we've got a congressman blaming absolutely irresponsibly outrageous conduct that needs to be investigated on the victims. That sends a horrible message to the victims of sex crimes."
Cannon said Friday morning he was not trying to blame the pages whatsoever in the scandal where Foley is alleged to have had several sexually explicit electronic conversations with teenage boys. Foley resigned a week ago after ABC News first reported the instant messages between Foley and a former page.
"The point of what I said is that institutions can't protect kids in a day when you have instant messaging and cell phones that do texting but also take pictures," Cannon said in an interview Friday. "Parents need to take some responsibility and teach their kids what to do."
Cannon's statement about a "prank" echoed a comment from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who said this week that maybe it was the kids "engaged in some kind of chicanery."
"Maybe they were laughing at Foley in the page room," Limbaugh said. "Maybe Foley's making advances and maybe you know , 'Let's egg this guy on.' ''
Matt Drudge, conservative muckraker of the Drudge Report, cited anonymous sources close to one former page calling an initial e-mail a "prank" and saying, "he goaded an unwitting Foley to type embarrassing comments that were then shared with a small group of young Hill politicos." The outed page's attorney told the Daily Oklahoman that the e-mail was not a prank.
Cannon, who again repeated in an interview that "all kids" are precocious, said he doesn't see his comments as blaming the victims.
"This is not about minimizing Mark Foley, who really is creepy," Cannon said. This is "not about blaming kids. It's about warning parents and kids that they need to take responsibility in a world full - or with an increasing number - of predators."
Cannon, later appearing on CNN's "Situation Room," more squarely laid the blame on Foley. "Foley is the guy who was the predator, and he's who to blame here," Cannon said.
He didn't back off his ''precocious'' statement, adding that because of their technological savvy, pages "may put themselves in more danger."
Steve Olsen, a Democratic candidate in Utah's 1st Congressional District, said he was troubled by Cannon's comments.
"Minors do dumb things, it's almost to be expected. But you expect adults to be responsible - at the very least, not take advantage of a minor's lack of judgment."
State Democratic Party spokesman Jeff Bell posted on his blog that Republicans have been trying to blame Democrats for making the scandal political.
"Fine. Do it. I don't care," Bell wrote. "And, you want to know why? Because one of Utah's politicians said the most disgusting, irresponsible and overwhelmingly partisan thing about the Foley scandal: Chris Cannon blamed the pages, the children. . . ."

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4456550