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Weinergate: Weiner's Wiener Continues To Make A Mess
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 2, 2011
Modified Jun 2, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Jun 2, 2011
Modified Jun 2, 2011
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Anthony Weiner went on a media blitz yesterday to try and deflate the ongoing wiener pic imbroglio, but instead the married congressman and 2013 mayoral hopeful may have just made things messier for himself. But at least he clarified to the Post why he couldn't "say with certitude" if the engorged member in the infamous yfrog pic was his own. When asked directly if he'd ever taken sexually charged pictures of himself he told Murdoch's minions that "There are photographs of me in the world, yes." He also told Rachel Maddow that the photo "maybe... started out being a photograph of mine."
Weiner explained his about-face from testily dealing with the media regarding the photo on Tuesday ("I'm sorry I was a little stiff yesterday," he told reporters) to a full on media orgy as a means to getting back to the daily grind. "I probably made a mistake then, not doing more interviews like this and letting some of the oxygen be released and let people hear what I had to say," Weiner told NY1. "That was a mistake that I made, but now I am doing these interviews with anyone who wants and I'm going to desperately try to get back to work as a Congressman tomorrow, if not for my sake, for my wife's sake."
Weiner's also brought up the toll the story is taking on his wife, Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (the two were married last July). In his one-on-one with Wolf Blitzer Weiner regretfully told the CNN anchor “I hope my marriage survives our first anniversary.”
As for why Weiner hasn't gotten the police involved, he told reporters that he doesn't want to "make a federal case" out of it, which is why he hired private law firm, Baker & Hostetler, to look into it.
But some doubt Weiner's excuse. On NY1 last night former mayor Ed Koch pointed out that "You do commit a crime if you give false information to the police and report a crime when a crime didn't take place. I think he's in trouble...I think he has a problem."
With Weiner seemingly not letting it all out for the media, the media has already turned his attention to the politician's political prospects. While locally only the Post seems to be actively worried about Weiner's prospects of staying in Congress in 2012, there does seem to be some real concern about what this will mean for his chances of moving into Gracie Mansion in 2013. Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic consultant, argues in the Washington Post that this could be a real irritant for him. “Sex wakes everyone but the dead,” he said. “This is a major story in New York City. No answered questions [and] no resolution equals more scandal, more sex, and a wounded Weiner.”
Meanwhile, even Jon Stewart, who came to his friend Weiner's defense on Tuesday night, couldn't help but have fun with the story on last night's Daily Show:
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