Weiner: Mayor or not? — Page 3

Weiner not that serious? Are you kidding? If these did not surface we would have a sick sob as mayor who would have no qualms about hiring anyone for city government. This is a tad more serious

You also have spitzer who lied and had to resign who is hellbent on chasing business out of NYC. He did a number on the liquor industry and destroyed many jobs (including my wife's). These are 2 guys who worry me. They are here and not in San Diego

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"Call me crazy, she might really be in love with him and has gone along with **his** ambitions before hers"

I don't think it's love. I think she wants to be first lady of NY, although I don't know why. She's attached at the hip to Hillary and will be in DC before long.

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Personally, I think he should stay in the race and just let the voters decide. And no, I'm not voting for him.

As for Huma: not so puzzling. Look at her mentor: Hillary Clinton. At the time, everyone was saying the same thing about her, yet she stayed with Bill and turned the whole thing around to her benefit. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Huma is following her lead. Smart woman.

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Updated On: 7/28/13 at 07:18 PM

"There seems to be a highly inconsistent moral judgment going on here, as Bill Maher pointed out last night citing Chris Matthews adoration of Bill Clinton and John Kennedy and condemnation of Weiner."

Ignoring that Chris Matthews is such an old-school, old-boy network misogynist (who actually has a volatile relationship with the Clintons), JFK had the Camelot facade. People in Washington had ideas that he frequently cheated on Jackie but people believed in the facade and tragic cutdown of a great statesman (questionable), All-American, clean-cut, and young President. If you believe certain JFK conspiracies (I am not one of those people), his infidelities may have been tied to his death with certain mistresses also being with men high up in organize crime. Anyway, JFK is a different time.

With Clinton there are people who either thought he brought the distraction on himself or that there were people who made it a distraction. But I think even if you disagreed with Clinton on policy, you may have took issue with his actions being impeachable. I also don't think people liked Clinton for his infidelity. It was a laughable, 'oh, he screwed up' persona but people always thought he was this fascinating dichotomy of a hokie Arkansan who knew a lot about policy and could talk about that policy all while he could down a Big Gulp with nobody turning heads. I think people who just see him as a horndog forget he is one of the most skilled public speakers in American politics, and only seem to realize this when he does speak.

Weiner is not in office. He was not removed for his Congressional seat. He resigned possibly due to public pressure but also people his real eye on the prize for years was the Mayoral seat. You could tell with the early media blow-outs he had with Huma that maybe his resignation was him believing being out of the spotlight bought him time for his comeback to the seat he really wanted. He made some partisan speeches on the House floor but he has no record. He really only had the firebrand, show-horse persona. He lost that in the scandals.

Even if people agreed with him on some issues there are people asking him why should he get a chance when he has created this distraction (yes, the media is puritanical on sex but I don't see European pols getting passes from their media or public for something like this) for something that for any regular person at a job would get fired for such behavior. The original scandal all started when these private exchanges by accident were sent to the wrong person online. I think there are people who don't think he is a politician you can just let this pass on the basis of him being somebody of substance or a good choice for Mayor.

"I think people who just see him as a horndog forget he is one of the most skilled public speakers in American politics, and only seem to realize this when he does speak."

I don't only see Clinton as a horndog. He is an amazingly skilled politician. But is there one moral standard for amazingly skilled politicians and another for those less skilled? One for politicians who are especially charismatic and attractive and another for those who might be seen as less so?

FTR (and I'm looking primarily at you, Roxy) I never compared Anthony Weiner to Bill Clinton. I compared Huma's behavior to Hillary's during Lewinskygate. And that's why her "standing by" her husband doesn't puzzle me.

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Jaw-dropping interview with Weiner by Denis Hamill in the NY Daily News.
Denis Hamill: Democratic mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner talks about his marriage, the sexting scandal and his hopes for City Hall

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What is it that you find jaw-dropping about the interview, PalJoey? Seems pretty straightforward to me.

For the record, I support the man. His private life is none of my business, and Quinn is not an option.

Sue I can't believe youstick around here. what a doormat!

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Ha SNAFU!

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I have less a problem with Weiner's private life than the fact he apparently has extremely poor judgment and restraint, which I cannot separate from his skills as a politician.

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I got a 404 - not found on that link,Tiny. I considered Bill de Blasio, AC126748. It is remotely possible I will still vote for him, but I like Anthony Weiner. He did a lot of Sandy volunteer work during his downtime, very low-key, avoiding publicity for it. He was good for his constituency when he was in office.

"I have less a problem with Weiner's private life than the fact he apparently has extremely poor judgment and restraint, which I cannot separate from his skills as a politician."

I understand and completely respect that, Kad. No doubt he has poor judgement and restraint in his sexting, which constitutes a small part of his life. I don't see how it affects his political skills.

If it looks like he has no chance at all, I may switch to Blasio - anyone but Quinn.

This video is amazing. He is positioning himself as a populist who may have shot himself in the foot but it was that darn press who have exploited his scandals and not at all the electorate beginning to really question this behavior.
Weiner for the People