Wednesday, September 04, 2013

WHAT MADE ANTHONY WEINER A LAUGHINGSTOCK TODAY IS WHAT'S MADE CHRIS CHRISTIE A SUPERSTAR FOR YEARS

Anthony Weiner's life in politics is going to end next Tuesday when he finishes well out of the running in New York's Democratic primary for mayor, and that's as it should be -- but I just want to point out a double standard. Weiner elicited a lot of eye-rolling for a confrontation he had with today with a voter in Borough Park, Brooklyn, who called him a "scumbag":





We now know, from an extended clip of the confrontation, that Weiner's critic not all called him a "scumbag" but complained that he's "married to an Arab" (between about 3:50 and 3:58 in the extended clip, below):





So, yeah, Weiner lost it, but he had a right to be upset.

But even if he didn't, why does this confrontation make him a laughingstock when the active politician in the New York region who's deemed most swoon-worthy by political insiders, the one who's breathlessly discussed as a possible future president, got to that exalted status in large part by engaging in confrontations just like this?

Am I wrong to think that if this had happened to Chris Christie, his poll numbers would go up? Is there any real difference between Weiner's confrontation and a typical Christie day?











Weiner yells and the political world snickers. Christie yells and the political world gets a thrill up its collective leg.

7 comments:

Paul said...

While I agree with you in general about the double standards at work in media narratives, Weiner made himself a laughingstock long before today.

Victor said...

IOKIYAR.

This ends today's edition of IOKIYAR.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting edition of IOKIYAR, when... well, it'll be OKIYAR. Again.

aimai said...

Well, its also that Weiner is playing against type--he's supposed to be the nice, unagressive, liberal and he looks like a 98 pound weakling. Democratic voters don't necessarily like an agressive asshole, but if their agressive asshole is going to get into a fight they like to think he'd win the chest bumping contest.

Steve M. said...

he's supposed to be the nice, unagressive, liberal

Really? I thought his reputation was as a mouthy guy, a New York Alan Grayson.

And I don't know that he won or lost. To me it looks like the classic New York argument -- prolonged, as if the combatants are actually enjoying the process of arguing.

Glennis said...

I guess you're just a more lovable asshole if you're a fat guy.

Anonymous said...

Weiner sounds and looks like the sort of worthless shit weasel that took pictures of girls in the shower and then you beat the crap out of him for it. Christie just comes off as an asshole.

There is no double standard.

Steve M. said...

Wow, that's ... um, a moral code, of sorts.