Yesterday, Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner ended speculation about his immediate political future by resigning from his seat in Congress. Over the past three weeks there has been much debate about if, and why the New York lawmaker would vacate his position after news surfaced that he'd sent multiple lewd photos of himself to several women “followers” on Twitter as well as inappropriate text messages. Yet to many, his worst crime was the cover-up, not the foul deed itself.
In his statement to the media yesterday, the Congressman stated that he at last resigned to allow his fellow Congressional Democrats to get back to work; to make room for a new representative to be elected, and to heal his relationship with his pregnant wife, Huma Abedin. Since news of Rep. Weiner's curious form of infidelity, his wife has yet addressed the media or delivered a statement concerning her husband's scandal. Weiner's resignation comes amid strong criticism from both sides that he step aside to allow Congress to get back to functioning effectively. If him stepping down actually does that, then his scandal was a godsend to the nation, and I hope we have more.
Congressman Weiner initially denied the allegations, instead saying that his Twitter account had been hacked and that he hadn't sent the photos. On June 6 he finally admitted to sending the photos as well as having inappropriate online relationships with up to six women, one of whom was a 17 year-old girl.
The New York lawmaker becomes the latest in a long line of powerful people (politician or otherwise) to be caught up in a career changing sex scandal. Recently dirtied names in the political sphere include former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer; ex-South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford; and Nevada Senator John Ensign; while the world of pro sports has given us headlines from the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Kobe Bryant, and Steve McNair.
Like most every political sex scandal, the downfall of Rep. Weiner wasn't the fact that he cheated, it was that he lied about it. The American public is much more forgiving of the bad guy who apologizes than the stubborn villain who refuses to even acknowledge wrongdoing. Nowhere is this more true than in the political arena or for our sports and entertainment superstars.
Take the case of Barry Bonds versus Alex Rodriguez. Barry Bonds was one of the most prolific sluggers in the history of baseball. He is the all-time Major League leader in home runs, yet many baseball fans want his name erased from the record books forever for using steroids. Alex Rodriguez admitted using steroids on primetime television and is now no worse for the wear.
Why?
Because he came clean. He admitted he screwed up and true to form we welcomed him back with open arms. Barry, on the other hand, has refused to admit that he ever once took performance enhancing drugs “knowingly”, and chalked up his dominance to flax seed oil. Congressman Weiner's claim that his Twitter was hacked is as flimsy as the Home Run King's, and like him, his career will likely be more memorable for the scandal than any good he may have done as New York's 9th District Representative.
Though it's not too rare that politicians get embroiled in scandal of one kind or another, it's far less common that the ordeal forces their resignation. The moral of Weinergate: cheating is alright, getting caught is inconvenient, but lying about is unforgivable.
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