Men Behaving Badly

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who got a laugh from Wednesday morning’s news reports that sex-scandaled Congressman Anthony Weiner called and apologized to … wait for it … former President Bill Clinton.

Last night, Jon Stewart’s response: “WHAT?!” Yeah, my thought exactly. Apologizing to Clinton for a sex scandal would be like apologizing to Nero for burning a hole in the upholstery. But then Stewart characterized it better than I could ever have hoped to: “Apologize for what? Copyright infringement?”

It’s been one of the few times I have laughed about this sexcapade saga with the Congressman, his phone cam and his preoccupation with Twitter and his, er, Little Anthony. I think it’s sad personally (I very much sympathize with his wife) but selfishly, I am grief-stricken professionally.

Weiner is one of a few Democratic bulldogs within Congress and God knows with Mr. Milquetoast in the White House, we need every one of them we can get! Weiner could be bombastic and even downright abrasive but it was usually on behalf of some worthy cause, or at least things I find worthy like healthcare, tax reform and the current societal class war.

Weiner is certainly not the first politician – nor, sadly, will he be the last – to be subject to some kind of sex scandal. Politicians are people, after all. They cheat on their wives, pay for hookers (and if you’re a Republican, you can do this and not resign), and lie about all of it just like men who aren’t politicians can.

The timing of this couldn’t be worse. With a new baby on the way, this should be one of the happiest times in his, and especially his wife’s, life. I’m rather doubting it can be at this moment. And professionally? I don’t know that there has ever been more at stake. Our country is having a really difficult time crawling out of the sh*tter that Dubya almost single-handedly drove us into, a situation not at all assuaged by the hijacking of an already radical Republican party by the Teaheads.

Unfortunately, as I’ve seen many a guy do, Mr. Weiner was thinking with the wrong head. And even more unfortunate, is that he will not be the only one to suffer for his misdeeds. It’s already creating rips in the Demo party, rips we can ill afford. I think it’s sad that so many from both sides of the aisle are already calling for Weiner’s resignation.

Sad … but necessary. The longer this drama drags on, the less important stuff gets done. I fear that the near future will bring more – and potentially even more damaging – revelations. So, let’s end it now and get back to business. An article on Salon.com summed it up fabulously: Now, Anthony Weiner is no longer Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Today, he's just a tawdry babydaddy episode of Jerry Springer.

It would figure that once the Democrats finally get some cajones (Obama’s Bin Laden victory not withstanding), some fool feels the inappropriate need to not only take pictures but to post those visuals online.