Anthony Weiner admits lewd behavior, promises to âdo it againâ if elected
In a hastily-organized press conference Tuesday, New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner admitted to again being involved in âoffensive and salaciousâ behavior. The admission came in response to a post on a gossip website by an unidentified woman who claimed she and Weiner had sent explicit messages online as far back as 2012. Some sources are indicating that Weiner posted photos of his genetalia. This latest âsextingâ occurred several months after Weiner resigned from Congress because of a similar scandal in 2011 involving lewd photos and messages sent via Twitter. Standing next to his wife, Weiner addressed the room full of reporters. âI would like to say that yes, I engaged in behavior that was wrong. I am sorry for that,â Weiner said. âIt is not fair to the people of New York nor to my wife, who has always stood by me.â âBut in my defense, I stuck to my word. When I resigned from Congress, I swore to you that more lewd material involving me would be released. And I stand here before you today to say this: I kept my promise.â âAnd I want to humbly ask the good people of New York City to give me another chance,â he said, frequently taking his wifeâs hand. âPlease continue giving me support in my campaign to be your mayor. If elected, I promise that more sexy and embarrassing material will be made available to satiate the publicâs bestial hunger for scandal.â Opinion among political commentators has been mixed. Ed Schultz of MSNBC, a former strong voice of support for the disgraced candidate, said Weiner âwould be too busy as mayor to find time to photograph his penis.â Roy Edroso of the Village Voice wrote that he believed Weiner should be the Democratsâ choice, because in any case, âheâll have dozens of aides â many of them young, hot chicks â who will help Weiner fulfill his promise.â Preliminary polls are showing that Weinerâs support among his democratic base has dropped significantly, while support among stand-up comedians and late-night talk show hosts has risen. The public demands an apology, would like to know on which site the photos can be viewed Across the nation, outrage about this most recent scandal has been growing. From the blogosphere to the nationâs op-ed pages, everyday citizens are voicing their disgust. âThere are three things that guy needs to do,â said Olivia Juhl, who runs a sandwich shop in Utah. âFirst, he needs to apologize to his wife. Second, he needs to apologize to his supporters.â âThe third thing he needs to do,â she said, âis tell us where we can see the photos. I mean, are they still on that blog or whatever? Is he going to tweet them? Or what? That creep.â Democratic supporters cite a âconspiracyâ against the candidate, google âWeiner penis photosâ just to see if allegations are true âI donât buy any of it,â said Adeline Kilgo, a Weiner supporter and Manhattan resident. âThereâs so much at stake in this mayorâs race. I donât trust Weinerâs enemies, that Bill de Blasio, and that Catsimatidis guy is shady, if you ask me. I believe this whole thing was a setup. The anonymous woman, the messages and photo of Weinerâs you-know-what. Itâs probably all fake.â âBut Iâm still sort of curious if the story might be true,â Kilgo added. âI wonder if I could google the photos of his â you know. Just to be sure. I donât trust his [Weinerâs] opponents.â