New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner
In two earlier posts, I discussed the rehabilitation of New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, whom I referred to as a “reformed sexter.” Well, it turns out Weiner isn’t that “reformed,” after all. The former congressman has admitted to further explicit online exchanges with women since his 2011 resignation.
What this behavior tells us about Weiner the individual I leave to the many psychologists — armchair and professional — who have discussed it. Analyzing other people’s sexual compulsions is frequently fun but rarely informative. I will also refrain from speculating about his marriage to Huma Abedin, who has continued to support Weiner publicly. I have long since grown to believe that many marriages are the human equivalent of black holes: light but flow into them but none emerges. And I am not about to plunge into the fraught question of what constitutes “appropriate” online conduct during a period when technology is challenging traditional concepts of sexual contact and personal privacy. We may, rightly, insist that the parties involved be consenting adults; move beyond this unexceptionable standard, however, and we are in complex and contested moral terrain. Nevertheless, Weiner’s behavior — all question of Weiner the man and husband aside — does raise profound questions about his trustworthiness. He is a politician, after all, who just two years ago resigned amid expressions of regret for his actions and promises to mend his ways.
Whether Weiner’s ambition to become mayor of New York City can survive the latest scandal is unclear, to say the least. His campaign is in disarray. He is facing national and local calls to withdraw from the race. And he has dropped to fourth place among those vying for the democratic nomination.
One way or the other, Weiner’s chances of becoming mayor of New York City have diminished, perhaps to the vanishing point. If, as appears likely, his political second act is drawing to a close, it is Weiner himself who has brought down the curtain.
Joe Barnes is the Baker Institute’s Bonner Means Baker Fellow. From 1979 to 1993, he was a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, serving in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.