The Sad Weiner Scandal
Published in Libération
(France) on 16 June 2011
by Fabrice Rousselot (link to original)
(France) on 16 June 2011
by Fabrice Rousselot (link to original)
Translated from
by Allison Petit.
Edited by Nathan Ladd.
We would have liked if he resisted, if he sent the media and the political class packing and hung on. But no, on Thursday, Anthony Weiner, an elected New York State representative for 13 years, had to offer his resignation.
The pressure from both Republicans and Democrats was too intense. Even Barack Obama declared, “I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign.”
And why is this? For having posted photos of his tight-fitting boxers and his torso on Twitter, and for having some slightly sexual conversations with strangers, one of whom was a former porn actress, on the social network.
At a time when debate between France and America is raging over the protection of politicians’ privacy, due to the Strauss-Kahn case, some distinctions need to be made.
We can legitimately question whether the press needs to report news about a politician who may have repeated aggressive behavior toward women. But how is a male politician using Twitter our concern?
After all, I’m not sure that Weiner’s tweets had any impact on his political representation of voters.
We could easily have conceived of leaving Weiner alone to continue his career in Congress. But no, apparently America isn’t there yet. And don’t give me the argument that because he lied he had to leave. That’s total hypocrisy. If it wasn’t something sexual, Weiner would still be there.
Last week CNN even dared to do a segment on the theme: “[I]s tweeting cheating?” For Americans, the answer seemed to be affirmative.
The pressure from both Republicans and Democrats was too intense. Even Barack Obama declared, “I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign.”
And why is this? For having posted photos of his tight-fitting boxers and his torso on Twitter, and for having some slightly sexual conversations with strangers, one of whom was a former porn actress, on the social network.
At a time when debate between France and America is raging over the protection of politicians’ privacy, due to the Strauss-Kahn case, some distinctions need to be made.
We can legitimately question whether the press needs to report news about a politician who may have repeated aggressive behavior toward women. But how is a male politician using Twitter our concern?
After all, I’m not sure that Weiner’s tweets had any impact on his political representation of voters.
We could easily have conceived of leaving Weiner alone to continue his career in Congress. But no, apparently America isn’t there yet. And don’t give me the argument that because he lied he had to leave. That’s total hypocrisy. If it wasn’t something sexual, Weiner would still be there.
Last week CNN even dared to do a segment on the theme: “[I]s tweeting cheating?” For Americans, the answer seemed to be affirmative.