Political Ad Uses Foley Scandal for November Race

ANOKA, Minn., Oct. 6, 2006 — -- You can see the years of pain etched in Patty Wetterling's face and in her eyes, and you can hear it in her voice.

It was 17 years ago this month that she lost a child. Her son Jacob, 11 years old at the time, was abducted at gunpoint right off the street and never heard from again. Inescapably, she has become an object of considerable sympathy -- but also admiration.

So she has some built-in advantages as she stumps through Minnesota's 6th Congressional District as the Democratic Party candidate. She is well-known in these parts, both for her tragedy and for the 17 years she has worked to protect children from predators.

And this week, as the scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., unfolded, Wetterling felt a special sense of betrayal.

The disgraced congressman was himself a strong opponent of pedophiles. He sponsored legislation to deal with what turned out to be the threat he posed to pages, so he and Wetterling occasionally crossed paths.

She told ABC News in an interview Thursday that she "liked" Foley for the effort he had devoted to her cause and had worked with him on occasion to further it.

Now, in the ruinous wake of Foley's conduct, Wetterling realized that as a champion of children she could not remain silent, even if some critics claimed she was seeking political gain through tragedy.

"This is very deep and personal to me," she said.

So this week her campaign produced the first Democratic ad tackling the Foley issue and the Republican handling of it head on:

"It shocks the conscience," the commercial intones.

"Congressional leaders have admitted covering up predatory behavior of a congressman who used the Internet to molest children.

"For over a year, they knowingly ignored the welfare of children to protect their own power.

" … she is demanding a criminal investigation and the immediate expulsion of any congressman involved in this crime or cover-up."

Though the ad is a stretch -- no Republican lawmakers have admitted any such thing -- Wetterling defended the content.