Holding a press conference now. Will update after.
… Weiner admits sending photos to a total of six women over the past three years, “most of them before my marriage.” Says he never met any of the women in person.
Takes full responsibility, apologized to his wife, and is NOT resigning.
Q. What were you thinking?
A. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s something that I did that was wrong, and I just regret it.
“Cannot” say that Andrew Breitbart’s claim of an x-rated photo isn’t true.
“I regret not being honest about this. I was embarrassed. I was humiliated.”
Says he and his wife will not be splitting up. Says they discussed his online relationships before they married, she thought they were over.
Jeez, what a jerk…and how does “Weiner” get pronounced “weener”???
Surely, it’s “WINE-er”??? There are some weird Jewish issues going on here. Back in the day, many a Goldstein insisted on the “Goldsteen” (rhymes with Springsteen) pronunciation….perhaps in the hope that people would take them for Dutchmen rather than Jews???
It’s truly terrible that many a Jewish public figure-Bob Dylan comes to mind, as well as Jon Stewart-feels compelled to play the name game in order to not seem “too Jewish”. And this is 2011, not 1933. America, not Germany or Poland.
Having said that, WHAT IS IT about Twitter, Facebook and all the rest of it that attracts people??? Why would anyone release any personal information into cyberspace, even the most innocent? I’ve got incredibly cute photos of my sons as babies, but I do not need the world to see them.
Another one bites the dust!
I think the point is that Versailles on the Potomac always has two or three of these ready-made “scandals” in the can at any given time. I think the “reporters” were getting tired of having to avoid reporting on the ongoing self-inflicted Republican Medicare vote disaster (bad for business and the boss’s bottom line). If it isn’t Gary Condit or John Edwards or that Republican freak with the pages. Anything, anything to avoid doing investigative journalism or reporting on unemployment or the fact that there have been precisely zero indictments, or even investigations, of any bankers. The media universe agrees: Summertime is Hamptons Time ! (or Martha’s Vineyard time, or Chesapeake Time–take your pick).
Weiner’s still my man . . . so to speak. I don’t care. The ONLY reason this shit came out was because of his criticism of that insane black guy. You know, the real one on the Supreme Court. Can anyone say corporate misdirection?
Strong liberal? OMG, he’s interested in sexxxxxxxxx (gasp)! With . . . women! If we’re going to disqualify for public service every man or woman interested at one time in their life, even right now, in sex, you’re going to have a very short list of eligible.
BTW, just contributed to his campaign.
It takes a hell of a lot of work by a lot of people to get Democrats elected to Congress. Weiner’s scandal won’t cause a Republican to be elected in his district, but for many voters across the country his story is now associated with Democrats generally. The really unforgivable thing is that he gave ammunition to the bad guys.
If you’re a Democratic member of Congress, it’s a given that people are looking for ways to smear you. You gotta keep your pants zipped. It isn’t even a matter of sexual morality.
English 101 composition: Compare and contrast John Ensign and the Andrew Weiner scandals.
Someone should have told him that you do not become invisible until you reach the age of 65.
I guess there really is a lot of id in “idiot.” And the id wants what it wants….
Unfortunately, the same risk-taking qualities that make people good politicians also make them prone to … risk taking.
Kurt, I think that if the Dems running outside Weiner’s district did not have to deal with a president of their own party who had done next to nothing for the little people, and it looks like he will continue to do nothing*, then the attempt to slander all Dems with Weiner’s shenanigans would not stick. But…in the current situation of low growth, high unemployment and exceedingly high longterm unemployment, with a president who allowed trillions to go to banksters who have enriched themselves and stiffed the rest of us, then the president’s Treasury Secty also stiffed people (by HAMPing them), then the Weiner scandal is just another straw piling on. It may not be the straw that breaks the Democrats’ backs, but it will contribute.
This morning, NPR reported that Mitt and Barrt are tied in public polling. Granted, Romney’s been getting the kind of coverage the early ‘front runner” for the Repubs gets, and lots of peole don’t know that much about him, but prior to the latest jobs reports Obama had a fairly good lead over Romney. It’s looking like Mitt is becoming an acceptable replacement for Hopey Changey.
Romney has his own Changey issues (he tends to remake his image for each different campaign), and in a campaign more of his negative past actions will be brought out. But, he does look the part of a Savvy Businessman and speaks well.
If Obama’s in trouble, what the Congressional Dems must hope for is that people decide they don’t want a Repub president with Repub majorities in Congress. They also must make sure they do not alienate black voters who still support Obama (in left blogland, the calls of racism against bloggers who take stands against Obama are already out there). Gonna be threading a needle, walking a fine line. Hard times usually make it pretty hard on incumbents of the presidential party.
We could get a change election for change nobody really wants, all because Obama had his own agenda (or that of his Wall Street donors) and he misled the voters. Voters hate being lied to and manipulated like that.
*Unless Goolsbee announcement he is returning to the University of Chicago, soon, means someone in the Obama campaign has figured out telling people who are hurting that they shouldn’t feel like they’re hurting is not a good way to win an election. So, was Austan the Austerian pushed…or did he resign? To return to his tenured position at U of Chicago…. Very interesting news. He’s been chair of Obama’s Council of Econ Advisers for just about a year. As Scarecrow at FDL put it, “Goolsbee to go ‘poof’, but that won’t help the economy.”
Well, hats off to Digby for being able to watch Tweety wallow in this on Hardball. I can’t do that and still keep my food down.
Just tired of the entire spectacle – of the insufferable maggots in the press who won’t shut up about it and of the foolish members of the public who let this drivel distract them from the important news.
Republicans should be careful about killing off the geezers. Median age of declining FOX viewership is 65. Between young voters who’ve grown up with Jon Stewart and a growing hispanic population, geezers are the only demographic still clueless enough to support these ghouls and bozos. But hey, maybe if they kill off their base fast enough they will win themselves a spot in the dustbin of history before they finish wrecking the entire nation/planet. If Republicans want any lessons on destroying their own base, they couldn’t find any better teachers than Democrats.