If you’re a politician who lies, cheats, steals, starts wars without just cause, caters to the very bankers who caused the recession in 2007-2008, much can be forgiven. But in the U.S., if you’re involved in a sex scandal, your best bet is to resign and hope that you can make a comeback somewhere up the road. For Congressman Anthony Weiner, the dark trickster may make such a comeback difficult, if not impossible.
Weiner served as a Congressman of New York’s ninth congressional district from January 1999 to June of 2011. His politics were progressive, he appeared frequently on progressive cable shows to talk against Gitmo – the American off-shore prison for terrorists – and George W. Bush, about the financial meltdown, the mortgage crisis, all of the talking points that are near and dear to the hearts of progressives. Then in 2011, the photo of a man’s “bulging, underwear-clad groin” (Wikipedia’s description) appeared on Weiner’s Twitter account.
From the onset, he denied that he’d posted it and said his Twitter account had been hacked. But when more photos emerged showing Weiner bare-chested in his congressional office, he came clean. Yes, he had sexted with several women, but insisted he’d never met any of them, had never had sex with any of them. On June 23, 2011, Weiner resigned.
Here are the synchros:
Ø His name: Wee-ner.
Ø One of the women ‘involved’ with Weiner was deemed by her high school newspaper as “Most Likely to Be Involved in a Tabloid Scandal. At the time of the Weiner scandal, she was a 21-year-old college student in Washington state.
Ø Weiner’s wife at the time – and now – Huma Abedin, is a longtime aide to Hilary Clinton, whose husband was involved in a sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky.
Ø Weiner was “roasted” by late night shows and social media that included a familiar song from a popular advertisement that dated back to 1965, when Weiner was just a year old:
I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner
That is what I truly wish to be
cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner
everyone would be in love
oh everyone would be in love
everyone would be in love with me
On May 21, 2013, through a You Tube video, Weiner announced that he would run for mayor of New York City in 2013.
On July 22, 2013, Weiner held a hasty press conference that is probably going to tank his political career. He admitted to sexting a 22-year-old woman, sending her sexually explicit photos of himself, and basically doing the same thing he’d done two years earlier, when his wife was pregnant with their son. When Weiner talked to this woman, his handle was Charles Danger.
Honestly, can you hand late night comedians anything better than this?
Weiner’s press conference, with his wife at his side, struck me as a peculiar American schizophrenia when it comes to sex and politicians. He didn’t apologize – always a big no-no for Americans, and actually sounded irritated that he’d had to give a press conference to talk about any of this. His wife made a gracious – although uncomfortable speech – and talked about how she’d forgiven him.
Now go back a few years to Mark Sanford, who was governor of South Carolina from 2002 to January 2011. But for a week in June 2009, his whereabouts were unknown to the public, his wife, and to the State Enforcement Division, which provided security for him. He was missing in action and it became a nationwide news item. Before his disappearance, Sanford told his staff he would be hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Upon his return, that was his story, until a reporter intercepted him at Atlanta’s airport where he had arrived on a flight from Argentina. Within a few hours, Sanford held a news conference and admitted that he’d been unfaithful to his wife, that he’d spent a week in Argentina with his soul mate.
His admission ultimately led to censure. But he completed his term as governor , has since become engaged to his mistress, and recently won a congressional seat for South Carolina. Apparently, he was forgiven.
But it’s unlikely that Weiner will be forgiven. As one MSNBC commentator put it, Sanford can be forgiven because he is now engaged to his soul mate, the woman who was his mistress. True love prevails. Never mind that it broke up his marriage and nearly ruined his career. True love is true love, right?
The Weiner sexting scandal, on the other hand, was creepy and sleazy when it first happened two years ago and is even more so now. At the same time last summer that People Magazine did a very domestic happiness spread on Weiner and his wife and their newborn, he was sexting the 22-year-old woman, who has since given a tearful interview in which she apologized to Weiner’s wife.
What I find particularly sad about all of this is that when Weiner was in Congress, he voted for liberal agendas and pushed that agenda on cable new shows. He was well-spoken, passionate, had a sense of humor. Now? In his latest press conference, you could feel his underlying panic and sense the indignation of his massive ego: WTF, why should I have to be bothered about any of this?
The really curious thing is that it’s not as if Weiner’s wife is Gadzilla – she’s physically lovely. And she’s no mental midget – she’s one of Hilary Clinton’s aides. Granted, we don’t know anything about the emotional dynamics between the two, but based on what we do know, Anthony Weiner may qualify as a sexual predator.
If I were a Manhattan voter, would I want a guy like this as mayor? Nope. Too many distractions, too much me me me, and with so much scandal swirling around him, would the business of New Yorkers ever be addressed?
Then there are the creepy, sleazy elements…
How dumb can you be to AGAIN do the very thing that brought you down? All the while thinking he is deserving of public office? I also don’t go with the “poor wife” thing – she knows exactly who he is, and seems to be just as determined to pull the wool over the public eye to have political power.
I’m so over all of these people. Including the Clintons. Time for some new blood in Washington DC.
i’d been wondering when we’d see a post here on the weiner deal…and all the synchros attached to it – as for me and any kind of political election, my vote would not be cast for this oscar mayer hot dog… pun intended –
Ditto, Gypsy.
P.S. Just to be perfectly clear, I do not in any way, shape, or form, support the cultural mores of those countries that encourage the behaviors mentioned in my previous comments. I think they are horrible, even though they have been integrated in those cultures for centuries. It doesn’t make them right.
I think any weakness of character can surface when seeking to make a name in politics or any position of power – the temptations will be there. It happens the world over.
In some countries of the world, (France and Italy and Japan, for example), it is acceptable and sometimes even desirable for a husband to have a mistress. In these countries, the legal wives know about the mistresses and often are the ones who choose and approve the laison between the “other woman” and the husband. This is especially true among the wealthier castes and royalty. In America, such behavior is scandalous, as well it should be. In those countries where infidelity is accepted and expected, children are not damaged because it isn’t considered a social or moral “sin”, and many of them have half-siblings who are part of an extended family. In certain other countries, and in certain religions, very young girls are “promised”
to much older men, and then married to the man the moment they reach puberty and are able to conceive.
It is their norm and completely acceptable and desirable in their mores. Here in America, these traditions are obscene and heinous. We consider them to be the abominations that they truly are. They erode the very conscience of our masses. By no means do I approve of this type of behavior. However, in situations where political leaders are concerned, such as President Kennedy with Marilyn and President Clinton with Monica, if the liason doesn’t affect that president’s ability to do his job, I believe it, (infidelity, never child abuse), is a matter that is between the husband and wife and is not a public matter. Abraham Lincoln had a woman of color with whom, according to history, he was deeply in love and with whom he fathered children. Mary Todd Lincoln was aware of this situation. From all accounts, his love life didn’t affect Lincoln’s capabilities as President. Apparently it didn’t impact Lincoln’s abilities to run the country.
Contrarily, when the infidelity or obscene acts affects the ability of the leader, be it a president or governor or senator, a pastor or a priest or whatever, and children are sexually abused and emotionally damaged, then it becomes a VERY public issue and must be addressed accordingly. In the United States we hold ourselves to a much higher moral standard, and generally speaking, these moral standards are for the protection of the family and in particular for the protection of our children, who are most vulnerable when scandals explode within their homes or when they themselves are abused. BUT…in spite of our attitudes of indignation and judgment, as a country, Americans seem greedy for scandal and literally eat it up.
Thus, all the proliferation of “Jerry Springer” type shows on television. We propagate the issues by focusing on them with great relish, demanding information and the most intimate and disgusting details. In my opinion, America’s hunger for scandal perpetuates and worsens the circumstances. These types of behaviors will always happen among the rich and powerful, and when we put it on the front page of every tabloid and every newspaper in the land, we are increasing the tendencies. (I’m not speaking of blog posts such as this, but of publications consumed by a public that seems to enjoy such filth.) In any case, Weiner is a weiner, and deserves some kind of appropriate retribution….again, in my humble opinion.
I wondered when I first heard about this second event if he is driven to do this by some hormonal demon. On the Daily Show John Oliver said he’s driven by a desire that is completely inappropriate: to run for office! Just stop trying to be a politician and become a run-of-the-mill sexual predator! 🙂