I hope that what follows is the only comment I have to make on the ridiculous Anthony Weiner nonsense.
I couldn't care less that he took a picture of his penis and sent it to someone, or perhaps several someones. It might have been nice if he'd manned up and showed what he'd snapped a picture of and come clean last week, shrugging his shoulders after telling reporters it was his business.
For those who believe I am being hypocritical because I have made fun at the expense of Newt Gingrich for his own marital lapses, I wish to be clear. Anthony Weiner, to my knowledge, has not spent the better part of his public career lecturing other people how to live, touting himself as “defender of civilization, a teacher of the rules of civilization, arouser of those who form civilization ... and leader ‘possibly’ of the civilizing forces”. A serial monogamist cum adulterer, Gingrich is a ridiculous figure to most people not New Gingrich. Making fun of him is easy enough. This doesn't mean I believe his various peccadilloes and extra-marital dalliances matter all that much. They don't, not really. Nor did Bill Clinton's. Henry Hyde? Nah, not really. John Ensign? He should have told people to leave him and his private life alone.
In the case of Rep. Weiner, there is the added prurience that there might be penis pictures. Which, of course, no one in the media will publish, but certainly when Andrew Breitbart publishes them, he will be defended. Like Monica's stained blue dress, this is all about little kids all excited because naughty-bits are involved.
Weiner didn't do anything millions of Americans don't do. If you don't believe me, just check out the various photo sharing websites. Some of them have "adults only" areas, others do not have such areas and ban nudity; none of that would be necessary if there wasn't a ready market for people sending pictures of their sexual organs for others to gape at (or laugh at). Is what he did intelligent, thoughtful, mature? Obviously not. Is what he did some sign from which we can understand his public life as a legislator? Of course not.
Leave Weiner and his namesake alone, for God's sake. The world is falling apart, pay attention to something big and important, which neither Weiner nor that which is in his photo are.
