FROM PROFESSOR JACOBSON, A Weinergate retrospective — the lying liars and their lies about Andrew Breitbart. “Andrew Breitbart was proven right. He brought down a flame-throwing Democrat the old fashioned way, with the truth.”
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WEINERGATE UPDATE: Anthony Weiner A Jerk Before Crotchgate, Craved Media Attention Says New Book. Well, he certainly got plenty of that, but he didn’t seem to enjoy it.
A new book offering an inside look at the US House of Representatives depicts Weiner as a desperately ambitious loudmouth who berated his staff and would do or say anything for TV airtime.
Weiner “would enter his office in the Rayburn Building screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘Why the f–k am I not on MSNBC?!’” journalist Robert Draper wrote in Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the US House of Representatives. He finally got his wish, Draper wrote, when Weiner pushed to become the liberal spokesman for ObamaCare.
“He was now on MSNBC every week, sometimes every day — to the point where he was carrying his own makeup kit. (Or rather, his press guy was.)” Draper wrote.
Yeah, I know — Congressman craves TV time is kind of a dog-bites-man story. But desperate to be on MSNBC? That’s just sad. Obama comes across as rather unwilling to hear advice here, too. That explains a lot.
FUNNY, I DIDN’T REALIZE THAT JIMMY CARTER WAS BLACK. I stand corrected. But really, you don’t need to strain yourself this much. We understand that everyone who criticizes Obama for anything is racist by definition. Just leave it at that and save yourself the trouble. But I have to say, this from Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher may be the lamest effort yet. I hate to reward such trolling with traffic, but sometimes it has to be pointed out. You wrote about Instalanches, Tommy. Enjoy this one.
UPDATE: From the comments:
Urbandictionary.com has five different definitions for, “Liver lips.”
Not one of those definitions has any reference of any kind to any race.
Of course not. Nobody ever thought it did, before. But then, Tommy Christopher isn’t exactly reliable as a reporter.
MICKEY KAUS: Weinergate’s Incomprehensible Afterlife.
IS WEB ANONYMITY still alive and kicking?
MICKEY KAUS: Weinergate: The Search For Meaning. “Weiner is a victim of web-driven macho partisan cocooning. That is, it was the fight-back partisanship of the Daily Kos community that gave him a group of linked-up followers he could make himself a hero of. This included dozens or more women (real or virtual) who idolized him whom he could contact in the space of a coffee break. Weiner was arrogant enough to think he could get away with recklessly exploiting his fame and status in this Web niche in part because he figured his pack would always defend him in a pinch. He was too essential to the fight. The ingenious instant wisdom of the Kos crowd would be too powerful in a clinch. He was almost right about that, though in the end it proved a delusion.”
A WEINERGATE stalemate? “Whatever might motivate Weiner to quit, it obviously can’t be shame. Anyone who has seen the middle-aged congressman’s photo self-portrait of himself posing naked in front a gym mirror must conclude that Weiner is utterly shameless.”
WEINERGATE UPDATE: A 17-year-old girl?
TO HELP US GET PAST WEINERGATE, instead of MoveOn, there’s SitOn.org.
MY THEORY ON BARBARA WALTERS: SHORTAGE OF ARICEPT: Barbara Walters’ theory on Weinergate: It’s the Viagra.
GENE HEALY ON THE LESSONS OF WEINERGATE: “Not only are political sex scandals great fun, they serve an important social purpose. They remind us that we should think twice before we cede more power to these clowns.”
A WEINERGATE LESSON? Beware Of “Feminist” Men.
Related thoughts from Jennifer Rubin: “As for the ‘I just don’t get it’ response of some young liberal men out there, I can only imagine that ideology so dominates their lives that they fail to see the harm in a public figure’s not-at-all-private conduct. Or perhaps they too see the Tweets as a harmless pastime. Maybe, for all the ‘sexual harassment’ training we’ve gotten, we’ve forgotten some essential training in ethics.”
SELF-DESCRIBED “PROGRESSIVE FEMINIST FANGIRLS” swoon for Anthony Weiner.
UPDATE: Weiner’s willing women. “He didn’t hide who he was — in fact, he used his power to lure women into his web. The women willingly ‘went there’ with him, in spite of the fact that he was married. He didn’t enhance his profile, he just relied on the fact that women would be so enamored to be conversing with a congressman that they’d keep it a secret. And, come to find out, he was right. Had he not inadvertently sent his now notorious photo to all of his followers, he’d no doubt be planning his next romantic endeavor.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Weinergate Gotterdammerung. I confess that those are two words I never expected to see used together.
ED DRISCOLL: Weinergate vs. The Summer Of Nixon.
ANTHONY WEINER’S COLLATERAL DAMAGE: Barbara Walters. “When Joy Behar, of all people has to defend Sarah Palin from your bizarrely gratuitous swipe, you know you let your hate lead you too far into Whackyland. . . . As you listen to Walters, all you see is passionate advocacy; not a newswoman concerned with the truth of a story, but a partisan doing everything she can to divert attention from a story she doesn’t like. . . . We don’t actually have a genuine press any more. Thank God for the Internet, says I. I wonder how much longer we’ll be able to traipse its environs freely.” ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ.
JAMES POULOS: The Ruling Class & Power-Elite Corruption: Who Should Trust Anthony Weiner Now?
UPDATE: Lots of Weinergate coverage at TweetWatch.
BREITBART CRUSHES THE OPPOSITION: Weiner Admits Crotch-Tweet, Apologizes to Andrew Breitbart.
UPDATE: Not everyone is apologizing.
ANOTHER UPDATE: BREITBART ROCKS WEINER PRESSER- “I’m Here For Some Vindication.” Mission accomplished.
A lot of people owe him an apology.
Plus: Video: Breitbart Takes Over Weiner’s Press Conference. “Exit question: If Breitbart hadn’t asked for an apology from Weiner, would the press ever have thought to ask for one on his behalf? A rhetorical question, of course.”
FORGET WEINERGATE, HERE’S REAL NEWS: Progress in containing antimatter.
THE DAILY: Weiner’s Tale Unraveling.
GATEWAY PUNDIT is all over the Weinergate story. Just keep scrolling.
WHICH IS MORE THAN YOU CAN SAY FOR SOME MEDIA OUTLETS: Andrew Breitbart Did Not Run ‘Weinergate’ Evidence Which Turned Out To Be Fake.
MARK STEYN ON WEINERGATE: “It’s the political class doing all this relentless “work for the American people” that’s turned this country into the brokest nation in the history of the planet, killed the American Dream and left the American people headed for a future poised somewhere between the Weimar Republic and Mad Max. So, if it’s a choice between politicians getting back to work for the American people or Tweeting their privates round the planet, I say, Tweet on, MacDuff. Tough on our young college ladies. But, as Queen Victoria advised her daughter on her wedding night, lie back and think of England. Download and think of America.”
HOWARD KURTZ ON WEINERGATE: “It has come to this.”
Meanwhile, on Facebook, Don Surber writes: “Enough with Weiner’s wiener already. When will the press cover that 97-0 shellacking that O’s budget got in the Senate?”
UPDATE: Jim Treacher emails that this represents a change in tune.
WEINERGATE: A Third Act Plot-Twist? “Cool! That would turn it from a bad episode of The Good Wife into a good episode of The Good Wife.”
MICKEY KAUS: Underpants In The Undernews: “Weiner’s latest media foray contains a bit of possibly brilliant misdirection. The press is focusing on his strange statement that he doesn’t know if the photo in question is of him. This does two things for him. First, it distracts attention from the central development, which is that it is a security firm he has hired that is going to do the ‘investigation.’ I guess Sen. Stennis is unavailable. What are the chances that his own firm is going to conclude that he did it? His enemies should concentrate on bringing in the neutral third party he obviously wants to avoid. . . . At this point the greatest evidence of Weiner’s guilt is Weiner’s own damage control effort. Why is he acting so squirrely?”
Maybe the obvious answer is the obvious answer.
UPDATE: Poll: Have you ever sent naked pics?
ANOTHER UPDATE: Donald Trump Weighs In On ‘Weinergate’: ‘He Obviously Knows It’s Him.’
WEINERGATE UPDATE: Weiner Might Not Have Sent The Wiener. “It’s very possible Weiner did not send the photo in question, but that does not explain the behavior of the people involved. For example, why won’t Rep Weiner simply state that it is not his wiener in the picture that was tweeted? If his ID was stolen and he didn’t send the Tweet, why is he acting like he desperately wants this story to go away?”
UPDATE: How we know Weiner is in trouble: Media now identifying him as a Republican.
WEINERGATE: Weiner: I can’t say with certitude if that is me or not. Huh? Does that mean he’s got so many crotch shots out there he can’t keep track?
NEW YORK POST: Weiner Linked To Numerous Beauties On Twitter.
Meanwhile, reader Paul Jackson emails: “Know who the happiest guy on Capitol Hill is since the Weinergate story broke? Barney Frank. That guy’s got nine lives when it comes to accountability when his personal life intersects with his professional one.” Good point. Anybody know if Barney’s got Twitter-hacking skills?
CHANGE: Mickey Kaus: “The MSM does not seem to be buying Weiner’s line.”
Related: Worst press conference ever? “People who had previously doubted Weiner’s guilt are, I’m sure, now beginning to doubt his innocence. And after a politician famous for his media savvy has such a spectacular meltdown on camera, it’s hard to pretend it’s not newsworthy.” Plus, a question for Jeffrey Toobin.
UPDATE: More here.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Hey, remember Jeffrey Toobin?
YA THINK? Peter Ingemi: Too Many Coincidences In Weiner’s Tale.
Related: Is America Ready for ‘WeinerGate’?
UPDATE: Weiner’s office refuses to say if lewd photo is of congressman. No police investigation underway. Meanwhile the press is covering for him like it did for John Edwards, and Mickey Kaus is mocking them for it.
ANOTHER UPDATE: More on Weiner from Kaus. Alibi one has collapsed already.
MORE: Bryan Preston: How Long Before Weiner Blames, Fires A Staffer?
So now Weiner has lawyered up (why does the victim lawyer up? Because he’s not the victim!), dodged specific fact-based questions about the photo and whether he has contacted Cordova (because the facts aren’t in his favor for one reason or another), and is calling the tweet a “prank.” From “hacked” to “prank” is a major, but strategically useful, climb down.
The next step is to find a staffer to blame the “prank” on, which will be a staffer who had some access to his social networking accounts. Deputy communications director, something like that. Weiner finds a way to compensate the staffer for taking the fall (promises to find them another job outside DC or his district), lets them take the fall, and attempts to move on. And the media, which can’t even get the basic facts in this whole thing straight after several of us blogger types have helpfully published detailed timelines for them, will do their best to let him move on.
It’s interesting to compare the press treatment of this issue to, say, the Mark Foley affair.
LAST NIGHT, a reader asked me if Frank Herbert’s Bureau of Sabotage was behind the Weinergate incident. I replied that with politicians, it’s mostly self-sabotage, making BuSab superfluous.
This observation is true from a policy standpoint too, and here’s the latest example: Environmental tax threatens green energy research in UK: Carbon reduction commitment (CRC) scheme has ‘perverse effect’ of threatening zero-carbon energy research.
World-class research into future sources of green energy is under threat in Britain from an environmental tax designed to boost energy efficiency and drive down carbon emissions, scientists claim.
Some facilities must find hundreds of thousands of pounds to settle green tax bills, putting jobs and research at risk.
The unexpected impact of the government’s carbon reduction commitment (CRC) scheme is so severe that scientists and research funders have lobbied ministers for an exemption to reduce the bills.
Among the worst hit is the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, a facility for research into almost limitless carbon-free energy. The lab faces an estimated £400,000 payment next year, raising the spectre of job losses and operational cuts. “Considering our research is aimed at producing zero-carbon energy, it seems ironic and perverse to clobber us with an extra bill,” a senior scientist at the lab said. “We have to use electricity to run the machine and there is no way of getting around that.”
Perverse, indeed. All part of the Knowledge Problem, of course.
TIMELINE: Weinergate: What We Know. “For MSM types who wish to start covering Weinergate accurately, or for readers just catching up, here’s a quick primer on the undisputed Weinergate facts.”
UPDATE: Related: Yup I’d hire a lawyer too if someone hacked my twitter account.
And here’s more on how Weiner’s lawyered up. Let’s face it, if he were a Republican, he’d already have been mocked on Comedy Central and forced out of office.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Whose bulge is bigger? Conveniently side-by-side here.
MORE: Human Factors: “My own interpretive key to these scandals is whether the politician has appeared in public with the demonstrative support of his wife. Weiner also fails my test. In another of Glenn’s Weinergate updates, the New York Daily News publishes a photograph of Weiner out for a walk, holding hands with his wife, Huma Abedin. I don’t want to be rash, but that photograph is a dead giveaway. In terms of persevering in the face of the scandal, however, Weiner has something important going for him. He’s a Democrat.”
WEINERGATE: Mickey Kaus calls for an outside investigation.
A WEINERGATE REMINDER: “Wiener” And “Weiner” Are Two Different Words.
Copy editors take note.
WEINERGATE UPDATE: Student who got lewd pic from Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account denies she’s his mistress. Plus, a picture of Weiner and his wife making a public appearance holding hands.
LEE STRANAHAN: #Weinergate:The “Would Your Spouse Buy It?” Test. “Although I don’t think what Anthony Weiner is even accused of doing rises to the level of ‘love child while your wife has cancer’, the #Weinergate story reminds me a lot of the post-Beverly Hills Hotel phase of the John Edwards story.”
JIM TREACHER: I demand an official investigation of the hacker who broke into Rep. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter account. “I don’t agree much with Rep. Weiner politically, but he’s a congressman and this is a serious crime he’s alleging. Not to mention that identity theft can happen to any of us at any time. Therefore, Rep. Weiner must call for an official investigation. He owes it to himself, to all other victims of cybercrime, and to his fellow members of Congress who might also be at risk. . . . And if Rep. Weiner doesn’t want an investigation, somebody should ask him why not.”
UPDATE: More here.
Related: WeinerGate: MSM Ignores Trifecta of Sex, Politics, and a Rising Political Star.
WEINERGATE UPDATE: Hey MSM any old Twit(erer) understands what Rep Weiner’s numbers mean. “There are millions of people who use twitter who have absolutely no interest in politics, who when they see the numbers concerning followers also will understand exactly what it means.” Read the whole thing.
THEY’RE CALLING IT “WEINERGATE:” Congressman Claims “Facebook Hacked” As Lewd Photo Hits Twitter.
