Rachel Maddow And Bob Herbert Argue About Anthony Weiner (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow and Bob Herbert had a disagreement about the Anthony Weiner scandal on Maddow's Monday show.

Maddow began the segment by running through a long list of stories that the scandal was crowding out, and she brought on Herbert to discuss it. In her view, Democrats calling on Weiner to resign are making a big mistake.

"Why are Democrats turning on Anthony Weiner like this?" she asked.

Herbert essentially said that two wrongs don't make a right. "We should want higher standards in government," he said. "I do believe that Weiner's behavior has been egregious. In the first place, it's profoundly disrespectful to women. And if the photos that he sent, if they were uncensored, he'd be gone now. I mean, he sent some hideous stuff."

"But isn't that just rewarding the disproportionate coverage of him?" Maddow said. She pointed out that the John Ensign scandal, which she has devoted a lot of time to, received "marginal coverage" in comparison.

"For somebody like the president...to be stepping in and saying this is the standard that Democrats are held to while that is manifestly untrue for the other side, to me seems like a form of unilateral disarmament."

Herbert said it was simply about maintaining certain standards in a political party.

"As a person who is really foursquare for progressive values, i would very much like to see democrats have a higher standard of behavior than the Republicans."

"I am absolutely flummoxed that Democrats are throwing him under the bus for this and not just screaming 'double standard, double standard,'" Maddow concluded.

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