The media has been abuzz since last weekend, when allegations first surfaced that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) supposedly tweeted a picture of his, well, weiner (albeit, umm, packaged in boxer briefs) to a college student. Conservative columnists and politicians, many of whom dislike Weiner a great deal, are salivating at the possibility that this scandal could force his resignation.
For someone as smart and supposedly media-savvy as Weiner, his responses to this issue have been scattershot and fairly ineffective. In addition to having a little fun at his own expense, Weiner has claimed that his Twitter account was hacked and then said he was a victim of a prank, there have been questions about whether he called the police (since tampering with online accounts, especially those belonging to members of Congress, is a crime), and, strangest of all, Weiner "cannot say with any certitude" whether the picture is of him or not!
While some in the political arena and the media have already found Weiner guilty, I am on the fence. On the one hand, Weiner's handling of the issue certainly leaves his innocence in question, but I can't help but wonder if he'd really be foolish enough to think that evading the questions will make them go away. How many politicians have fallen prey to scandals of some sort? Does Weiner think he's smarter than everyone and can fool the media and those already calling for his, well, head? (Sorry. As Jon Stewart says in the clip below, there are very few ways to deal with this issue without acting juvenile.)
It will be interesting to see how everything ends up in this case. Even Jon Stewart, who is a friend of Weiner's, doesn't quite know what to believe.
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