Hillary, Huma kindred spirits through sleazebag husbands
Watching the documentary film “Weiner” and seeing Huma Abedin’s disgraced husband embark on his masochistic quest to become mayor of New York reminded me of those Life magazine photos of Buddhist monks setting themselves ablaze in the early days of the Vietnam War.
You want to look away, but you can’t.
“Weiner” was supposed to capture the political resurrection of an egomaniac who blew up his career in Washington by emailing selfies of his crotch.
But what the film did was document Anthony Weiner’s second career suicide for basically doing the same thing, only this time as the cameras rolled.
“Weiner” also gives us a haunting portrait of Huma Abedin, who had taken a break from her State Department duties as Hillary Clinton’s “second daughter” to campaign beside her husband.
When the film surfaced about five months ago, Hillary was running full blast for president and Huma was back at her side after separating from her husband.
Still, it was impossible to watch “Weiner” and not wonder how a woman, bright enough and savvy enough to earn the devotion of the most powerful woman in the country, could stand by such an arrogant sleazebag with a kind of devotion that seemed almost trance-like.
I was told recently by someone who knows that the bond between Huma and Hillary goes way back to the early days of Bill Clinton’s sex scandals in the White House.
I don’t know if Hillary has seen “Weiner.” If she has, I can’t help but wonder if she ever viewed her “second daughter’s” obnoxious husband as a potential threat to her presidential campaign.
Did Hillary ever wonder or worry about the laptop Weiner used in the film to tap out his speeches during that surreal campaign for mayor? That it might be the same device he allegedly used for a slew of other lurid diversions?
When Huma finally jettisoned her husband over the summer, did Hillary allow herself to believe that all the angst her closest aide had endured was finally in the rear view?
Or did she know from personal experience that when you’re married to a ticking time bomb, things often explode at the worst possible moments.
I am still optimistic Hillary Clinton will become our first female president. But she’ll have to do it over the frenzied ravings of Donald Trump, the flagrant hypocrite who’s already admitted he likes grabbing women by their crotches.
Hillary will also have to pull it off while under the vague threat of “pertinent” emails that may, or may, not be found on Anthony Weiner’s computer — the one her “second daughter” made the mistake of sharing with her twisted time bomb of a husband.