The Wein machine in a clean self-portrait
Why do we continually get surprised when men in positions of power use it to act out their sexuality outside of social norms, either physically in the cases of the latest poster boys Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dominique Strauss-Kahn or electronically, in the case of the rapidly falling from grace New York Rep. Anthony Weiner.
The recently married Weiner was apparently so impressed with his own physical attributes that he couldn’t wait to share pictures of them with women who expressed a modicum of interest in his political views on Facebook or Twitter. In one instance that is just being revealed, a single mom from Texas simply wrote “Hottt” in the comments section under one of his stump speeches–and that was all it took to get on board the Weiner sexting train.
From the Left Coast and likely most of the rest of the country outside New York, Weiner came into public view just recently with that infamous picture of him in his bulging, tight gray underwear. It was a photograph which he disingenuously denied was his, after claiming his Twitter account had been hacked, in a strange interview with ABC News that has come back to haunt him. That was after he blew up at a reporter’s question about the affair in a now infamous video clip.
It was puzzling that at the same time, Wiener was continually mentioned as the next mayor of New York City– political dreams that have apparently now gone up in digital flames.
After lying, dodging and posturing all last week, something happened to Weener over the weekend that led him to hold his tearful news conference in New York yesterday in which he admitted that he sent sexually explicit pictures to six women over the past three years. He said he would not resign his office in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi announced that he would be the subject of an ethics investigation.
Today, it gets worse–and even more edgy when it comes to ethicsl. TMZ– yes, give Harvey Levin credit for some stellar investigative journalism– broke the story that Weiner gave one of the women advice on how to lie about their relationship and even offered the services of his PR people–who were probably on the government payroll.
TMZ reports “Weiner and former porn star Ginger Lee exchanged scores of sexual emails over a long period of time. When the underwear scandal broke on May 28, Lee began receiving calls from the media, and Weiner was more than happy to help her control the situation … by lying.”
“On June 2, Weiner sent Lee a proposed statement she could give to the press: “I have nothing to do with the situation involving Rep Weiner. I follow his twitter feed. And for a brief time he followed me. Much has been made of the fact that I have posted about my admiration for Rep Weiner and his politics. All I can say about that is that I’m a fan of his. Rep. Weiner sent me one short direct message thanking me for following him. I have never met Rep. Weiner and he has never sent me anything innappopriate (sic) …”
Guess who just got famous and needs media management? Maybe Weiner can now take the role of Lee’s PR rep, since she’ll probably be getting all kinds of offers.
And then there’s this job offer from a dating website called Sugar Sugar, reprinted in its entirety for your amusement:
Dear Mr. Weiner’s Weiner,
While we know it’s been a hard day and your boss will likely pull out of the mayoral race, it has come to our attention that your celebrity status is on the rise. You’re only inches away from stardom, and as the most famous bulge in America , we can think of no one better to head our spokesperson campaign. We thought long and hard about this decision, and have come to the conclusion that it would be in our best interest to extend an offer and declare Weiner’s Weiner the talking head for www.SugarSugar.com, to share your brains, prowess and chutzpah with our users.
We’re not going to beat around the bush — SugarSugar.com is a dating website that connects financially-established men with women interested in the “sugar” lifestyle. Sugar Sugar aims to facilitate mutually rewarding relationships between “Sugar Daddy” and “Sugar Baby” members, and with over 40 million Americans accessing online dating websites every month, Sugar Sugar offers qualified members something sweeter.
To be clear, we’re not just looking for another figure head, we’re looking for someone who truly embodies the spirit of SugarSugar.com, as is apparent by your lust for younger women on the internet. At the same time, we’re looking for someone who is level-headed and will refrain from blowing their load amidst the harsh lights of the media circus your picture has aroused.
SugarSugar.com will offer you $50,000, but you can feel free to lie about the size of your paycheck. We’re happy to stuff your pockets, and this will be the easiest money you’ll ever come by. We would love for you to Tweet about our website as well, however long it may take for you to type 140 characters with the one finger hunt and peck method…
We need a firm answer by the stroke of midnight, otherwise, we’ll be forced to give you the shaft and instead extend our offer to Plaxico Burress, who we’vee heard also prefers to keep a loaded pistol in the crotch of his pants.
We look forward to your response.
Warmly,
Paul Madison
Yes, Anthony Weiner’s day in the media sun may be peaking for now–he could end up going the route of John Edwards or Elliot Spitzer, but for the women involved, it’s minute one of their fifteen.
