Posted on 06/01/2011 4:31:14 AM PDT by IbJensen
Does the Anthony Weiner affair mean anything? Some married congressman may or may not have sent a Twitter crouch shot of himself to a college girl on the other side of the country.
Snore. So what else is new? We all know that our male politicians – left, right, gay, straight, or whatever – suffer from overdoses of testosterone. It’s almost the sole distinguishing characteristic of a profession that otherwise has no specific qualifications. Weiner himself had the reputation of being quite the playboy before he married the half-Indian, half-Pakistani Huma Abedin in 2008. So what if it hasn’t really stopped, even to the degree he counts porn stars among the short list he follows on Twitter? How very French.
But wait. That’s the point, isn’t it? Is this really the kind of behavior we Americans want from our public officials? When they lie in public about sex, how do we know they are not lying about other things?
Yes, I know Weiner has not yet been proven to have done anything, but his evasive behavior in response to questions is reminiscent of a long list of public figures from Bill Clinton to John Edwards to Eliot Spitzer to Mark Sanford to… well, I could go on. Although these men were far from the first to commit adultery, they all have something in common that most do not. They lied about it to the American public while serving us as our elected officials. None of them could be honest until it was absolutely necessary, if they were then.
Weiner has all the earmarks of such a person, refusing to talk about what happened in a recent television interview while insisting on discussing the debt ceiling. Are we then supposed to take his comments on the debt seriously? Were we ever? Leaving aside that he is a ceaseless cheerleader for a political party that has yet to produce a budget — that, after all, is a partisan decision, disingenuous as it may be — Weiner is asking us to ignore one of the oldest of legal dictums, the Roman “falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.” You lie about one thing and you lie about all.
An argument could be made, of course, that that makes a good portion of males (and a good portion of females as well) liars about everything. But there are degrees. And the way you respond to the revelation of your peccadilloes is a mark of your character.
In that sense, Weiner has failed miserably. The defensive mixture of entitlement and anger he displayed at the news conference Tuesday in response to many natural questions on his activities is, to put it mildly, unattractive. Like many Lotharios he finds it difficult to “man up” when the pressure is on. His Brooklyn constituents should be ashamed.
This may be a good teaching moment for America, just as the Strauss-Kahn affair should be for France. There is no reason we should elect such people. Their behavior is not cute, nor is it charmingly corrupt in New Orleans/Chicago fashion. These are our elected representatives at a moment, as Weiner himself reminded us, of serious economic crisis. We don’t have time for people like him.
But we shouldn’t feel sorry for Anthony Weiner. He may not achieve his lifelong goal of being mayor of New York, but, considering the values of our era, he could end joining his former colleague ex-Governor Spitzer as a host on CNN.
One last thing: Twitter has been touted as great tool of democracy. Sometimes it is (Iran). But sometimes it’s more like a faux-democracy with all kinds of propaganda, distortion and, naturally, marketing flying back and forth in short unsubstantiated bursts. If a public official goes on Twitter, he or she does so at their (and our!) peril. Imagine, for example, if a real Hacker (not a Weiner pretend hacker) found his way into the direct message tweets between, say, a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence and his paramour… Need I say more?
Why would she need a picture of a Weiner’s crouch? Look at that nose!
Just asking.
“Crouching Twitter, Hidden Weiner”?
His constituents probably love him and will most likely,
almost unanimously, return him to office.
(If it were a Republican or Conservative involved in this, there would have been a never-ending chorus in the press for him to leave the Congress.)
IMHO
What a naive statement! Whether it's licit or illicit sex, most people do not put their sex life on the public stage.
Don Weiner.
There is no way “Tough Tony” would send something like that to a GIRL!
LOL. That’s a good one.
He wants to run for mayor of NYC.He has the Jewish vote,the gay vote and the arab vote.He was just reaching out (Ahem)
for the black vote.
Huh?
What is a "Crouch" shot?
Is that anything like a "crotch?"
Just askin'???
Stick a fork in him, he’s done.
this is the first time I’ve heard Huma described as Indian-Pakistani...Other reports have listed her as Saudi muslim
And why trust a politician who cannot keep his marriage vows to his wife, to keep his oath to protect the best interests of the anonymous public?
Character counts.
Has Weiner voted to censure any other congressman for immoral behavior?
I am losing faith in women fast if a ladies are routinely attracted to that little dweeb. He reeks with queer.
Wiener a playboy? He's the personification of the pencil-necked geek. He exemplies the adage that 'politics is show biz for ugly people'. If he was a playboy, it really does show that power is the ultimate aphrodiasiac.
“There is no way “Tough Tony” would send something like that to a GIRL!”
I agree. I say he is gay.
Maybe he thought he was about to be outed, and needed to convince everyone he was just as normal sleazy as most of the real heteros in congress.
Maybe he’ll get a couple of goddesses and go on tour....
It does appear that Rep. Weiner has gotten himself into a little pickle with this incident, doesn’t it?
Anyone who votes for him, apparently doesn’t care.
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