Some parting thoughts on Weinergate from readers. One writes:
You saying “He was targeted for purely partisan reasons” seems way off to me. Of course there’s a great deal of partisanship about it, but it also exposed a politically-problematic attitude toward women in his exchanges with these women, and a puerile lack of discretion that seems a genuine defect in a lawmaker. I think his political allies had just about as much interest in seeing him go as his opponents, so I think the reasons for his exit are pretty bipartisan.
I agree about the lack of discretion. But what ended his career was the fact that he had been humiliated by the demands of his own considerable cock. That "too big to fail" organ beat the other one in his cranium. In men, that happens sometimes, in case you haven't noticed. In men fueled by testosterone and power – and just look at him, he's a strutting rooster of hormones – the combination can be overwhelming. I feel pity not disgust. Another:
If these exchanges had been completely separate from his service as a Congressman, the grounds for pushing him to resign would be weak. But the reality is that these interactions were far too close to his work and responsibilities as an elected official. Would it be appropriate for a Congressman to respond to a question at a town hall meeting by passing a questioner any of the pictures he sent online? It might sound like an unfair comparison given the privacy of the Internet, but a Congressman’s Twitter and Facebook accounts serve a purpose similar to that of a town hall. It’s not unreasonable to say that those people are entitled to responses that don’t involve the Congressman’s penis.
Er, yes. But these are new arenas and we haven't quite adjusted to them yet. Post-Weiner, a lot of online mores in DC will shift. Another:
Weiner is not simply the representative of a liberal district in New York City. He is Obama's most visible leftward policy pull. During the healthcare debate he was a regular on Meet the Press. The administration couldn't risk campaigning for the public option, so Weiner turned out every Sunday to tell Americans about its advantages. My parents are conservative farmers in Iowa, but they listened to and considered Weiner's arguments via their local NBC affiliate. To my father, Weiner is a Democrat the same as Obama, no daylight between. And yesterday, a porn star held a press conference in which she said Anthony Weiner instructed her to lie about their relationship. Obama is a consciously post Clinton, post scandal Democrat. And Weiner is out.
Meanwhile, David Vitter remains one of the many politicians my father has never heard of.
For a look back, Matt Stopera created "The Official Weinergate Headline Timeline". Cartoon by Ted McCagg.
