I was just looking over my blog post from June 2011 that talked about Anthony Weiner's initial "sexting" scandal that cost him his congressional seat. Now that he's back on the political trail seeking to become the next mayor of New York City (what a surprise), should we really be that shocked by this week's revelation that he indulged in more unseemly online behavior as late as the end of 2012? What's more shocking to me, is how his wife, Huma Abedin is able to stand by him, yet again, in the wake even more inappropriateness.
Okay, the immutable fact is that no one is ever really sure what goes on in a relationship. Even best friends are never entirely certain what happens between them, and their spouses. The press has even less of a clue, especially when they quote "sources" that are close to their subjects. So, why is Ms. Abedin taking so much flak for standing by her man? The answer is simple: she's being coached by the champion loyalist herself, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It's no secret that Huma Abedin has been associated with Hillary Clinton since 1996, and that she bore witness to Mrs. Clinton's humiliation during her own husband's sex scandal. She stood by him, and look how things turned out for her. It wouldn't be so crazy to think that Ms. Abedin is taking a page out of the Clintons' playbook by showing solidarity to her own husband. Millions of women, however, are wondering how an obviously intelligent, accomplished woman can tamp down her self-esteem so completely as to stick up for him not once, but twice.
It's all well and good for the media to poll women about their feelings. You can say whatever you want on your lunch break when a reporter from the New York Times approaches you for a quote. But, in the privacy of your own home, and within the dynamic of your own relationship, you really have no idea how you would react if you were the one with the pervert husband. It's easy to have opinions about others, but when it's your life called into question, you realize the answers aren't always so black-and-white. And having children doesn't make the decision-making process any easier.
Although I have personally been party to spousal Internet philandering, I would never be brazen enough to tell Ms. Abedin (indirectly or otherwise) how she should handle her relationship. Sure, I, along with millions of other women railed against Mrs. Clinton for not spiriting her daughter out of the White House in the middle of the night and holing up in a painted cave in France for the rest of her husband's presidency. Even with Mrs. Clinton's subsequent political accomplishments, I don't think I could have stood by my own spouse through such abasement. Ms. Abedin also has a child to think about, albeit one who will have no recollection of what it was like for his mother to suffer through his father's improprieties.
If I were still living in New York City, Anthony Weiner would not get my vote for mayor. Politicians don't have the most stellar reputations to begin with, but how could anyone possibly trust the judgement of a man who is obviously incapable of stopping himself from such lewd, irresponsible behavior? If he cannot take into account the effect that behavior has on his wife and child, how could he ever assure millions of people that he wouldn't fuck them over?
Nava
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