I read about this today, and this is very very disappointing.
I'm a Republican, and what Foley did was pretty perverted. He promoted a certain moral code and then broke it. I haven't heard anything about him actually trying to meet with the kid or kids...but without a doubt, it's right that he stepped down. Leaders need to practice what they preach. You can tell a lot about a leader by the way they respect others.
As for the party role-playing, this kind of behavior isn't limited to Republicans. Yes, Republicans love to play the 'God-family-tradition' card, so it's pretty easy to point to instances of hypocrisy But the Democratic leaders have just as many 'do as I say, not as I do' skeletons.
Kevin