What David said. Especially this part:
I feel bad for Weiner but I’d have a lot more respect for him if he’d abandoned the tearful, interminable apology and instead told the press corps, “I’m resigning. This is not because of the sexting, which is legal and none of your business, but rather because I lied about it and got caught, and therefore will never again be able to function as an effective advocate for universal health insurance and other vital legislation that 99 percent of Democrats are too cowardly to touch. So have a nice day and go fuck yourselves.”
I hated the press conference and the tears, but why should he resign?
His constituents get to fire him next year, if they so wish, and his district may be eliminated at some point thanks to the 2010 census and the incredible stupidity of people who sat out the 2010 elections and let the crazies take over.
No, he should not resign but should keep fighting. He is an eloquent progressive advocate and we need him to keep it up. Let his constituents fire him, don’t let the press do it. It’s about time someone stood up to this nonsense. He’s human. We want humans in Congress, even if they occasionally make embarrassing mistakes. Thankfully they are not all this embarrassing, but other than lying and getting caught, I don’t see how it changes the positions that he has taken.