News that Rep. Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma are expecting their first child adds a touch of humanity to an increasingly grotesque tale.
But here’s the question: Is Weiner so utterly devoid of common decency that he’d subject his pregnant wife to wholly unnecessary pain and humiliation as his career disintegrates around them both?
A real man would quit.
Then again, a real man wouldn’t have gotten into such bizarre trouble in the first place.
Yesterday, the long-discussed X-rated photo of Weiner’s now-famous appendage hit the Internet; blogger Andrew Breitbart showed it on his cellphone to radio shock jocks Opie & Anthony while taping their show — and their in-house video crew captured the image.
Quick as a wink, it was on the Web — and around the world.
Weiner’s colleagues were not happy.
“Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress,” said Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), a top official of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “In light of Anthony Weiner’s offensive behavior online, he should resign.”
She was joined by Rep. Michael Michaud (D-Me.), who called on Weiner to quit; Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), who said he had “disgraced the Congress” — and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who urged Weiner to “go ahead and resign.”
Even before the photo surfaced, former Democratic Party Chairman Tim Kaine, now running for the US Senate in Virgina, demanded Weiner’s resignation, saying: “Lying is unforgivable [and] public lying about something like this is unforgivable.”
And at least two of Weiner’s Democratic House colleagues said they’d give away campaign cash they’d received from his committee.
A lot of this is self-serving, of course. Which Democratic politician wants to be tarred with Tony Weiner’s brush?
Let’s be clear: Weiner’s disgusting behavior has not only brought shame on himself, but upon Congress as well.
And there’s more.
It seems that Weiner had known for months that his disturbing antics was being tracked by people who wished him no good — but he kept it up.
The Times reported yesterday that the trackers had started contacting some of the women who were interacting with Weiner on Twitter and warning them to stay away.
Yet all he did was drop his contact with some of the women he’d targeted — while continuing with others, including porn star Ginger Lee.
Quite apart from the sickness underlying Weiner’s sexting compulsion, there’s a self-destructiveness to his behavior that borders on the frightening.
We understand that Weiner has never held a job outside of politics, and that he seems to have few marketable private-sector skills (apart from lobbying — for which, come to think of it, he seems quite well-suited).
But his political career is over, and there’s a baby on the way.
It’s time for Tony Weiner to move on to the next phase in his life.
Today wouldn’t be too soon.