The Irresistible Allure of Power

Anthony Weiner was considered the strongest candidate for mayor of New York in the 2013 elections. Until he became the next American politician caught in a sex scandal.

The late night talk shows in the U.S. have not received such a big gift for a long time. As a member of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress, Anthony Weiner not only has a name that causes some funny associations (Weiner is pronounced as wiener, which in English, as well as in Bulgarian, bears spicy connotations) but also turned out to be involved in a sex scandal. Making the story even more interesting for the tabloids, the politician denied for more than a week that the photos were of him and even declared in an interview that his Twitter account, from where the first photo was taken, had been hacked. However, at a press conference on Monday, Weiner admitted in tears that he had taken naked pictures of himself and had been having affairs with six different women.

Now the congressman, considered an absolute favorite for the Democrats in the New York mayoral race in 2013, has not only said goodbye to his political aspirations but is also being threatened with investigations by his own party as to whether he had inappropriately used the U.S. Congress’s computer and telephone. On top of all that, the scandal comes only 11 months after Weiner’s marriage to Hillary Clinton’s most trusted adviser, Huma Abedin (former President Clinton formally married the couple). If Abedin leaves him, that would not only be the end of their marriage but it will also provide the politician from New York the long-lasting antipathy of the powerful Clinton clan.

Weinergate, as the media has labeled the scandal, came as a surprise because the congressmen had been known as a good communicator, capable of using both traditional and new social media well. The whole story started on May 27, when Weiner posted his picture on Twitter thinking that he had just sent it to a 21-year-old student. The close-up of tight male underwear with a discernible protrusion was quickly deleted but not before one of his followers on Twitter sent it to the popular Republican blogger Andrew Breitbart from BigGovernment.com. Starting from there, the tabloids published the news putting up smart titles such as “Weiner’s Pickle” (In Bulgarian slang, something similar to “The sour cucumber of the wiener”*).

However, what really made the mainstream media and his own party lose all respect for Weiner was his attempt to run away from the situation with his awkward lies. The politician first claimed that his account had been hacked; then he said that he could not be sure if the pants in the photo were his and only after the media found a 26-year-old mom, who had had an online affair with him, did he formally admit it. The tears before the public and the begging for forgiveness not only did not move the reporters but also provoked an open mocking of the congressman. The journalists threw out questions such as whether he would seek consolation from Arnold Schwarzenegger (the press exposed the former governor of California for having an illegitimate child) and whether he had an erection on the already famous picture. The conservative blogger Breitbart, in the meantime, released more semi-naked pictures of Weiner.

The fact that the affairs seem to have been only virtual and never physical is of small importance now. Weinergate has turned into a scandal that goes beyond sexual dimensions.

Meanwhile, after so many secrets of U.S. politicians have already come to the surface, the American public has become too accustomed to such things to be shocked at several naked pictures. This indiscretion is not as bad as Mark Sanford’s , [the former] governor of South Carolina who disappeared for a few days to meet his lover in Argentina; not as bad as a former candidate for president who used to withdraw government money to pay his mistress or Bill Clinton’s adventures in his office. Moreover, unlike many of those politicians who were caught cheating in recent years like Sanford, Schwarzenegger, Edwards and former Congressmen Chris Lee and John Ensign, Weiner never really used the concept of preserving family values as part of his political platform. Prior to the marriage with Huma Abedin, he had been famous as a congressman playboy for his love for parties, friendships with Hollywood stars such as Ben Affleck and his public flirting. The voters in the liberal state of New York, on the other hand, always forgave him because of his charm and his brave political stance.

It is exactly the anger of the Democratic Party’s supporters that can now put his career to an end. Up to now, he had been the left-wing hero of the Democratic Party with his noisy support for an entirely government-sponsored health insurance and his calls for abortion of the deals on weapons with Saudi Arabia, as well as with his disapproval for the two-year extension of the low tax rates on high incomes.

After his confession, the Internet was flooded with leftist bloggers’ comments saying that if Weiner had not lied to the public, his supporters, after making some sarcastic jokes, would probably forgive him. After all, these people do not consider themselves puritans like the Republicans so the attacks on the Internet would actually strengthen their support. Now the anger of the Republicans is growing because it was exactly House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi who called for an investigation into the ethics of the politician’s conduct. The pressure to resign has also been growing.

The U.S. media commented that like most politicians, Weiner still hasn’t realized he can’t always get away with it. It is rather the opposite. As unofficial statistics show, the new social media and networks create too many temptations and easy opportunities for cheating. “Welcome to the club,” said jokingly Weiner’s old friend, comedian John Stewart. So if you have photographed with your cell phone some intimate parts of your body or you have sent a SMS full of promises, you have become part of a global tendency. And you can possibly hope to get away with it. Unlike Anthony Weiner.

* Editor’s Note: This is a Bulgarian proverb without a direct English equivalent.