Alright I couldn’t really help myself with that headline, but I will try to keep it to just that one.
Rep. Anthony Weiner telling the truth during a press conference on June 6. (Andrew Gombert / EPA)
On Monday I was in my office trying to conquer the afternoon when a Twitter pop up announced Wiener comes out. Perhaps it’s the publicist in me but I already knew what the story was about. Instinctively I knew Weinergate had stepped up to crisis mode.
I quickly headed over to my CNN Live stream and to be honest as anxious as I was about what I assumed I would be viewing, I wasn’t quite prepared for what I saw. On my tiny screen, live in the moment I saw a sweating, foot shifting, sometimes whimpering, water gulping New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. As much as it was a hot story, with my every being somehow I wanted to be transported to New York and shove him off the stage. It was painful to watch and all I could think about was how does a publicist turn this around?
Let’s recap the whole Weinergate scandal. An inappropriate photo is sent out from Wiener’s account to all his followers. Weiner comes out to say his account was hacked and someone was playing a prank on him. Instead of having the FBI investigate the matter, as they tend to do with such cases involving elected officials, Weiner opts for a “private investigation” to be conducted. Republican blogger Andrew Breitbart threatens to release photos and expose Weiner as a lier. Monday, June 6 press is called to a press conference where the world hears the confession by Weiner of sending the photo himself and participating in inappropriate conversations with Twitter “friends.” Well his exact words were:
“a frivolous exchange amongst friends” — Congressman Anthony Weiner
All jokes aside though; strictly from a PR standpoint, I have to hand it to Weiner; fessing up was a good move. Wiener came out; finally told the truth and answered questions, some might say too many questions. I applaud him for exposing himself, no pun intended (seriously) to the press core. As humiliating as it was, he tolerated and answered varying questions about activities surrounding the issue. It made him seem sincere and apologetic about his activities and of course, he was asking for forgiveness.
Lying however, was the move that probably will end his career. But perhaps he can bounce back like other public figures disgraced by sex scandals and become the host of a prime time show. Who knows, but I’m quite sure he won’t be the last politician to commit career suicide with happy tweets. As it stands, his party is asking him to step down and get out of the way. Tuesday a NY1-Marist poll showed that 51% of New Yorkers are willing to excuse Weiner for his inappropriate behaviour. The poll also found that only 30% of voters wanted him to step down, the remaining percentage is indifferent.
Considering 2012 is just around the corner, I would agree that Weiner should step aside and work with his party behind the scenes. There are things he personally needs to work on, specifically his relationship with his pregnant wife and repairing a marriage that hasn’t celebrated a year’s anniversary. Sometimes in public relations, our hardest work is the things that are done privately that go a long way with the public.
If that doesn’t work, our attention span is short, another scandal will come along pretty soon and Weinergate will be a thing of the past; another pop culture buzz word.
Question: In the Spring of 2011 what series of events ended the career of a NY Congressman via Twitter?
Answer: What is Weinergate.
