Tuesday, July 23, 2013

New York Times Editorial, "Mr. Weiner and the Elusive Truth": As Elusive As Weiner's Wang

Back in April, The New York Times appeared ready to assist in Anthony Weiner's rehabilitation campaign as he prepared to enter New York City's mayor's race. The New York Times Magazine devoted a lengthy article to Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, replete with heartwarming pictures of the loving couple holding hands, working together, and playing with their infant son (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/magazine/anthony-weiner-and-huma-abedins-post-scandal-playbook.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&). As reported in the article:

"By agreeing to be interviewed, Weiner and Abedin would seem to be trying to give voters what they want — and gauge public reaction. But it’s clear that the idea of talking about the scandal and its aftermath appeals to them on a personal level too. 'We have been in a defensive crouch for so long,' Weiner said. 'We are ready to clear the decks on this thing.' Their lives have become too small, too circumscribed, too claustrophobic for a couple accustomed to public life. They haven’t been to a major event together — no White House Correspondents Dinner, no red-carpet events — in nearly two years."

Can you imagine? No White House Correspondents Dinner! My goodness, how did they ever manage to get through this rough patch?

And sure enough, Weiner announced his candidacy in May.

But following Tuesday's acknowledgement by Weiner that his lewd Internet conduct continued after his resignation from the US House of Representatives, The New York Times appears to have abandoned its stance of "forgive and forget." In an editorial entitled "Mr. Weiner and the Elusive Truth" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/opinion/mr-weiner-and-the-elusive-truth.html?_r=0), the Times concludes:

"It’s difficult not to feel for Ms. Abedin. The couple deserved privacy as they worked through their problems — and they had it, until they re-emerged in public life and Mr. Weiner decided he was a good fit to run New York City. Mr. Weiner and Ms. Abedin have been saying that his sexual behavior is not the public’s business. Well, it isn’t, until they make it our business by plunging into a political campaign.

Mr. Weiner says he is staying in the mayoral race. To those who know his arrogance and have grown tired of the tawdry saga he has dragged the city into, this is not surprising."

The "elusive truth"? We're talking about blind ambition. It was there for all to see, but then I suppose that even The New York Times, which was ready to participate in the game for the benefit of the cause, is now waking up to the egg on its face.

3 comments:

  1. Of course, the "forgive and forget" rule only applies to Democrats.

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  2. There's still hope for this serial sexter. All Huma has to do is pick up a phone and ask Bill Clinton to publicly announce that "Anthony Weiner could have been me 18 years ago."

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  3. There is something else.
    Unlike Anthony Weiner (and Huma Abedin of course), I am second generation. By that I mean that a parent of mine (father) was a Holocaust survivor who lost his entire extensive family in the most horrible circumstances. It also means that I don't appreciate Anthony Weiner's comparison of "frisk and search" to the extermination of babies, the elderly, the pregnant, the sick among others.
    Unlike Weiner, I don't spend my days showing my body parts - I have other concerns in life.
    Unlike Weiner, I also don't use everything and everybody, including the greatest tragedy, for self-promotion.
    He is a barbarian.
    I really, really, really resent the fact that someone born in Brooklyn is using MY tragedy for his sinister purposes.

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