My friend Alex Morin posts a link to a video of "The Best of Anthony Weiner."
I don't want to dwell on Weiner too much. I agree with Alex that his scandal was overblown, though I think he got his goose cooked more by the coverup than by the crime. I disagree, though, that Weiner was any sort of victim or that his resignation was anyone's loss.
He made his political living by being an irresponsible hatchet man. He was on standby to say almost anything about anyone or any topic on any cable news channel to advance his agenda. Anthony Weiner was---for lack of a better term---a dick.
He was a dick to his colleagues, his opponents, and the media. He yelled, screamed, mocked, oversimplified, demonized, and vilified for a living. When he recklessly gave his political opponents an opportunity to come after him, he had no reason to expect a quiet, respectful, nuanced, and even-handed treatment of his own shortcomings.
Anthony Weiner's combination of crass style and thin substance served very few people well in the long run, including, it turns out, Anthony Weiner. It is hard to feel sorry for a guy who spent so long digging his own grave, and it is hard to believe that there isn't someone better to take his place.
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