Anthony Weiner: The Man Who Attracts Scandal

Democratic New York mayoral primary candidate Anthony Weiner, whose wife Huma is the Clintons’ protégée, is facing his second sex scandal in two years. It is an affair that the former presidential couple could do without.

Some say that he had a bright future. The youngest city councilman for New York, elected to Congress at age 35, Weiner never hid his ambitions at all. When he married one of the most formidable political strategists in the Democratic Party in June 2010 — she Muslim and he Jewish — the story seemed to write itself. A love story built on tolerance, intelligence, ambition (which isn’t a swear word on the other side of the Atlantic) and work, which Hollywood and Washington go wild for. And let’s be honest, the media love to repeat and aggrandize at every opportunity.

The young couple does lead an interesting life. Born in 1976 in Kalamazoo, Mich., to an Indian father and a Pakistani mother and raised in Saudi Arabia, Huma Abedin is a “political animal” whose class and elegance could make Parisian fashionistas green with envy. She is a beautiful woman who breathes intelligence and tenacity and became the campaign manager and closest colleague of Hillary Clinton. As for Anthony, he was the Democrats’ rising star, young and hungry; the Brooklyn-born man causes quite a stir in the press. It was the 42nd president of the United States of America who brought these two young people together — ignoring the Lewinsky scandal, the acts of contrition and the dry spell. Bill Clinton, whose wife became the secretary of state to the first black president in American history, is now the most popular former leader in his country. Huma Abedin travels the world with a woman who considers her a spiritual daughter and her top adviser on the Middle East.

However, the happiness was short-lived; neither woman knew that she would have to face almost the same twist of fate a few years down the line. When the first scandal surrounding Weiner came to light in 2011, Huma was on a trip abroad. Her husband inadvertently sent a photo meant for a young girl from Seattle of his bulging underwear to every single one of his Twitter followers. After attempting to claim that his account was hacked, he was eventually forced to admit that he lied. Abandoned by his party — President Obama himself advised him to resign — he gave up his seat in the House of Representatives the following month. Betrayed and pregnant with their first child, Huma Abedin chose to stay. It hit Hillary Clinton hard.

The last straw came a few days ago, when news of the second scandal broke: He had continued sexting young women well after retiring from public life. Visibly affected but putting on a brave face, Huma Abedin decided to stand by her husband and confront the press while he campaigned to become the next mayor of New York. Drawing comparisons with the Clintons in 1998, when they were thrown into the Lewinsky uproar, is easy — too easy. According to the words of an elected Democrat — sent forward while the Clintons held their tongues? — as reported by The Washington Times, “The Clintons are upset with the comparisons that the Weiners seem to be encouraging — that Huma is ‘standing by her man’ the way Hillary did with Bill, which is not what she in fact did.”

Admittedly, the timing is not the greatest. As Act II of the Weiner scandal was being written, Hillary Clinton was invited to lunch by President Obama for the first time since stepping down as secretary of state. In fact, it is well known that the former first lady and ex-diplomat is preparing for the primary election battle for the presidency in 2016. It is a long-term commitment that could not endure even the smallest blemish to tarnish her track record. Today, she is the woman who is best-equipped to ensure that America remains in Democratic hands after Obama’s presidency.

Last week, Anthony Weiner lost his campaign manager, who was against continuing his attempt to get elected right in the middle of the re-emergence of the scandal and as the media headlines got increasingly aggressive. Weiner dreams of being the next mayor of the Big Apple and has decided to stay in the race, whatever the cost. According to The Hill, the American Congress periodical, his wife was seen having dinner in Washington, D.C. on Monday evening with Mrs. Clinton’s spokesperson. It would seem that the stakes extend well beyond the future of New York and Anthony Weiner, the man who attracts scandal.