Weiner’s wife echoes Hillary Clinton
Humiliated, both stand by their men
WASHINGTON — Some New York commentators refer to the dynamic sex duo of Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer as “dumb and dumber.” Others call them “creepy and creepier.”
Whatever the label, their parallel narratives of sex scandal and redemption have spiced up what otherwise would have been a mundane New York City election distinguished only by the fact that, according to one commentator, none of the candidates are ex-cons and all of them can read.
This week, however, things got even hotter and not only for the Weiner-Spitzer ticket.
Weiner, 48, who is running for mayor, resigned as a seventerm congressman in 2011 after it was revealed that he sent sexually explicit photos of his groin over the Internet and then lied about it.
Spitzer had to resign as governor of New York state in 2008 after admitting to spending a ton of money on prostitutes. He’s now running to be New York’s comptroller — the head fiscal and auditing official in the city.
Each of them disappeared into his own private penalty box only to emerge this year fully repentant, cleansed and, as disgraced politicians always declare, “ready to move forward.”
New Yorkers appeared to be ready to accept them at their word. Both candidates soon became front-runners in the race for the Democratic nomination.
Then on Tuesday Weiner’s campaign blew up with news that even after his resignation from Congress he continued his bizarre exhibitionism with yet new Internet postings and photos “seated” under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger” to women he didn’t know.
This time, however, the creepy sex texts of this former undistinguished lawmaker took on a whole new significance.
At his second mea culpa, he dragged his statuesque wife Huma Abedin, 36, onto the stage. Two years earlier he stood alone outside the Capitol as he made his confession. Huma, still unsure she wanted to stick it out, had gone into therapy. Now, with a new baby, a new condo and renewed political hopes, she decided to stand by her man. She had become his credibility ticket. If she deserts him, he’s toast and New York’s newest power couple is kaput.
Looking nervous, tired and not all that forgiving, she admitted that she already knew: “We discussed all of this before he decided to run for mayor, so really what I want to say is, I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.”
Who does that sound like?
How about Hillary Clinton back in 1992 after husband Bill’s philandering ways were revealed: “I respect him and I honour what he has been through and what we have been through together. You know if that’s not enough for people then heck don’t vote for him.”
Hillary came across a lot tougher than Huma, but sang the same basic tune.
The Huma-Hillary connection runs deep. She was Hillary’s chief aide in the White House and also in the Senate and still works for her as an adviser. Hillary has referred to her as her “second daughter.” Vogue magazine called her Hillary’s “secret weapon.”
This relationship, however, has suffered unwelcome blowback from Huma’s decision to stand by Weiner (a.k.a. “Carlos Danger”). Bill Clinton’s pleasure-seeking days are back in the news. And the question being asked is how will this affect Hillary’s potential run for the presidency in 2016? Do voters want Bill anywhere near the White House? A “Stop Hillary PAC” is already posing that question.
Weiner’s protest to reporters Wednesday that “this is not about me” has fallen on unsympathetic ears. The New York Times and the Daily News called for him to drop out of the race, essentially saying his alter ego Carlos Danger was unfit to serve America’s most important city.