Enough of Weinergate. And all of the bad jokes. Please. Even politicians are entitled to a private life. Besides, considering we're a country at war and the federal government is weeks away from running out of money, there are other more important things to talk (and worry) about.
But you would never know it listening to the news. Weinergate is getting more air time than the president, the upheaval in the Arab world and ARod. Combined. There is so much offense and outrage. What a pig. What a liar. He must resign. His political career is over. Alec Baldwin for mayor!
What an over-reaction.
Rep. Anthony Weiner may be a lousy husband but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's an inferior public servant. While his conduct clearly demonstrates a lack of personal ethics, it was not a violation of the public trust. He did not embezzle taxpayer dollars, rig an election, funnel government contracts to his friends or cheat on his taxes. Yes, he lied about what he did in the beginning. Big surprise. He's a married man sexting with women other than his wife. Everybody take a deep breath.
We don't ask candidates about personal matters, such as how often they floss, their preferred sexual positions or whether they like dogs or cats, during the election. Nor does the oath of office mention anything about Facebook, Twitter or fidelity. So it seems to me a bit incongruous to suggest that (admittedly stupid) minor personal indiscretions would be grounds to get kicked out of office.
But that's not my decision. Whether he retains his Congressional seat is a matter to be decided by his constituents, not by pundits and politicians who live elsewhere. If you don't live in his district, it's really not your concern.
What ought to concern the rest of us is the serious effect that digging around in people's private lives is having on our governance. Who wants to run for office? Any of your friends or associates? You? No, I didn't think so.
Our choices on election day are increasingly distasteful. More and more candidates seem to be (at least) one of the following: not very smart, narrow-minded, out of touch or destructively partisan. Not all of our public servants are like this, of course, but we are clearly not getting the best bang for our buck. Too many good people are choosing to sit on the sidelines rather than be judged by an increasingly unforgiving, nosy (and no doubt hypocritical) public. It's more than a shame. It has put us on a path of national decline, receding prosperity and diminished hope.
To be clear, I would rather our public officials set a positive example. And I'm not suggesting that we utterly ignore personal conduct. Sometimes it is an indication of a serious character flaw that disqualifies someone from holding elected office. For example, belonging to a white supremacist group or swindling people out of their money a la Bernie Madoff.
But sometimes people make mistakes.
Weiner apologized for his actions and I believe he is sincere. Why the lack of forgiveness by so many? Don't we have enough to worry about -- Afghanistan, Iraq, the economy, unemployment, the foreclosure crisis, crumbling infrastructure, the deficit, failing schools, inadequate health insurance?
Let his wife worry about what he does with his penis.
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Lincoln Mitchell: Why Should Anthony Weiner Remain in Congress?
Bonnie Fuller: The Real Reason Anthony Weiner Cheated On His Wife, Huma Abedin!
country, he certainly deserves a second chance like everybody else.
Being a hardworking man he would probably do some hard work on getting his personal
life in better shape. We should wish him good luck on that - and be grateful for having
some privacy ourselves.
1. He lied.
2. He attempted to cover up.
3. He lied some more.
Could you trust him? Would you want him as your congressman? The actions are secondary even when legal. The issue is trust and being able to beleive him.
We should do one of two things here. Either change our views on what the personal lives of politicians will involve...or vote in people who are THAT much better people. They will be middle aged women who aren't pretty or perhaps charismatic but they will get the job done. So pick, America. Do you want your guys to look the part? Do you wnat them to dress and act macho and slick? Then you GET MACHO AND SLICK politicians?! Why is that so hard to get?
The problem is not that people want Weiner to be better than them. The problem is that people who are better than Weiner expect Weiner to be less corrupt than he is, if he wants their vote. And the larger problem is that in the process of destroying himself with his lust he's taking down the entire democratic party.
So it's ALWAYS news when the tables are turned on someone like Weiner who happily, very publicly took others down.. As they say, turn about is fair play!
Morality is the hidden requirement in politics. No one really wants to vote for a candidate that they view as immoral. As enlightened and amoral as the left is, they realize that gross immorality may not be illegal but it can keep you out of office.
I suspect your problem with this is not that it's in the news but that it's a democrat. If it were a Republican politician lets face it, you would be writing another column telling us how important this is and why the public should be informed of his duplicity when they go to the polls to vote, etc etc we all know the attack lines.. Weiner is damaging the president, the party, and the parties chances in 2012. So you want the issue to go away.
Lets be intellectually HONEST. Don't try to reason it away as if the issue is not an issue. It's time to ask Weiner to step aside. That's the honest and direct approach. Re-educating voters to accept all immorality from the left while condemning on the right is really dishonest and not a good approach for us all.
How about when he continually lied about it and claimed that he had been hacked? He made it a public issue when he lied to the public about it. If liberals don't think that such lewd conduct is of any concern, then they should just admit to it next time and see if the public will let them move on.
Thank you for nudging us to get on with the important challenges facing our nation.