1) I could care less about Anthony Weiner’s dong. I sincerely wish this kind of thing was more important to Americans. Sadly, sex scandals get more press and page views than corporate malfeasance, non sexy political shenanigans, two wars, and other real issues combined.
2) I even feel the same way about right wing politicians. I wrote this nearly two years ago in reference to the David Vitter and John Ensign sex scandals (and Newt Gingrich’s stellar marriage record) and think it’s still completely relevant, especially to Weinergate:
“Yes, it’s hypocritical for the family values camp to cheat on their spouses. That aside, Ensign’s affair shouldn’t effect his abilities as a politician.
While steady marriage without divorce still pretends to masquerade as the norm in America, the going statistic (which is very debatable) says the divorce rate hovers somewhere between 40% and 50%. How one’s marital status affects one’s ability to say, decide whether or not torture should be practiced is beyond me.”
and
“Until we can get beyond trotting out someone’s various relationship issues in a soundbyte shouting match, the prevailing perception will be that Americans care more about what goes on in someone’s bedroom than about issues like poverty or war.”
On referencing the piece though, it took me a bit to remember who those two were. Weiner’s wang too, shall end up at the back of the sock drawer of political history.
3) How many millions is America willing to spend in an investigation? We spent about $7 million investigating Clinton’s Oval Office blowjob. Are we willing to sacrifice the cost of 1.5 Predator Drones to stare at grainy photos of a Congressman’s pants at half mast? Then again, NPR received just about that much money in federal funding, so I suppose if we slightly shifted our priorities…
Bonus: I can’t believe I had to type “Cost of Weiner…” into Google.
