New York City Politics And Sex Scandals: The Redemption Of Anthony Weiner And Eliot Spitzer?

Who would imagine that two New York politicians, both tragic figures involved in sex scandals, could suddenly emerge as likely choices to be the next Mayor of New York City, and the next City Comptroller?

That scenario is seen as very likely for former Congressman Anthony Weiner and former Governor Eliot Spitzer, spicing up the races for who will run the largest city, and who will be a watchdog over the city’s finances.

Weiner lost his Congressional career over his inappropriate utterances and photos on Twitter and with women, and Spitzer was involved in a high cost prostitution scandal, and yet both have now asked for forgiveness, and seem likely to have the voters give them another chance for public service.

No one can deny that their careers were dedicated to good deeds in public life, but their weakness in the area of sexual interests brought them down to humiliation and destruction.

The irony is that if both win the offices they seek, their egos and personalities will likely clash a great deal of the time, leading to lots of political “theater”, but also meaning New York City politics will be one of the most interesting political stories in America as we move into the future.

But would New York City and its residents want anything else other than center stage?

Redemption is part of the story of humankind, and Bill Clinton, David Vitter, and Mark Sanford have already proved that there is a life after scandal, in a nation in which ethics has suffered a massive decline! So the most interesting story of this off year election will not be the Governorship of New Jersey nor the Governorship of Virginia, but the New York City municipal races!

4 comments on “New York City Politics And Sex Scandals: The Redemption Of Anthony Weiner And Eliot Spitzer?

  1. Maggie July 8, 2013 8:49 pm

    Professor if I remember correctly 10 presidents had their own little sexual peccadillos.
    And I have a hunch a very large percent of those who hold high office have been lascivious and figured they could get away with it.
    Oh those guys! Boys will be boys! LOL!

  2. Ronald July 8, 2013 9:45 pm

    The following Presidents had sex scandals in their lifetime, although not all of them while in office.
    George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, James Garfield, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton. And there have been rumors about others, including Abraham Lincoln, Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush. So that adds up to 17 out of 43 Presidents.

  3. Paul Doyle July 10, 2013 12:10 am

    No offense, Professor, but methinks that both Spitzer and Weiner suffer from a sin far more serious than of a carnal nature—hubris.

  4. Ronald July 10, 2013 7:10 am

    Oh Paul, I am not offended, as the fact that politicians, even those who are disgraced, have hubris, is nothing new! LOL

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