The Anthony Weiner Affair

It's more sad than anything. He was a terrific crusader for progressive ideas. And we have to let him go... I think our puritanical ideals suck, and his life should be his own, but he chose to be dishonest about it again and again. The times and the place we live in demand retribution for dalliance and dishonesty. His verve will be sorely missed. But we DO have to let him go.

I would love to have one of these "straying" politicians come right out and say, "Yes, I'm having an affair. Or a few. And my wife is cool with it, and joins in. We're adults and we enjoy our lives. I do it openly, and with gusto, and still feel the obligation to serve my constituency. Any questions?"

We're a long way from being that advanced. I can dream, though.

The next step after that would be that it would be a non-issue. Then we might be an advanced culture instead of Bronze Aged barbarians.

As for Weiner, we will miss his voice in the House. Pick any moment of him on C-Span. There wasn't a single voice that powerful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgZf2U3iCs8

Comments

Anonymous said…
Obviously what has been missed is that Weiner's problem has absolutely nothing to do with sex. What it has to do with is risk-taking..the excitement of it to feel alive which is a symptom of certain personality disorders. Of course, it could really be a sex addiction, but I kind of doubt it. Isn't it interesting that it happens to an amazingly number of political figures--the greatest risk-takers of all?
Unknown said…
I think we all have a bit of a sexual libertine and yes, a desire for power in us. It's in our DNA. It's the way we spread our genes from 100,000 years ago and more. The more wealth and power you have, the more you can get away with. Or the more you have the hubris to think you can get away with it.
So, he was "icky". And he's dumb now to think he can get away with it politically, and keep his constituents confident of his veracity. And a lot of what his strength was was "speaking truth to power". That's been mortally wounded.
Yet, I remain a fan.
And Chinatown is still one of my all-time favorite movies. Nobody's perfect.

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