Anthony Weiner Quits: "Pervert" or Private Matter?

After weeks of hand-wringing and denials that he would quit, U.S. congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) resigned today over his lewd online exchanges with women constituents. Should Weiner be punished for being a "pervert" as some have put it? Or is his private behavior a matter between him and his wife Huma Abedin, since he has done nothing to break the law?

Starting last week, U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York who was seen as a rising political star and possible mayor of New York City, had been in the news amid calls for his resignation over lewd photographs of himself he emailed or tweeted to women, including a New York stripper and a teenager in Delaware.

Pressure on Mr. Weiner to leave the House has been building for days, with top House Democrats, including House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, coming forward over the weekend to urge him publicly to spare himself, his family and his party any more embarrassment.

The pressure only grew earlier this week when President Barack Obama publicly suggested that Mr. Weiner should step down and Ms. Pelosi told reporters that she was prepared to strip Mr. Weiner of his committee assignments unless he left office.

“Congressman Weiner exercised poor judgment in his actions and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations,” the minority leader said in a statement. “Today, he made the right judgment in resigning.”



“I’m here to apologize for the personal mistakes I have made and the embarrassment that I have caused,” Mr. Weiner said in a chaotic press conference, adding that he had hoped to be able to continue serving his constituents.

“Unfortunately,” he said, trying to make himself heard over the heckling of audience members, one of whom yelled that he was a "pervert." “The distraction I created has made that impossible."

Mr. Weiner decided that he could no longer serve after having long discussions with his wife, Huma Abedin, when she returned to Washington on Wednesday after traveling abroad with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Ms. Abedin did not appear by Mr. Weiner's side today.

Back in 2008, Weiner had told Associated Press that his personal life was off limits.

But is it?

Earlier this week, the House ethics committee opened a formal inquiry into Mr. Weiner’s conduct, including trading private messages with a teenage girl in Delaware.

What do you think? Is a leader's sexuality his own business, or do his followers have the right to expect that he walk his talk in his private dealings? I look forward to reading you on http://thomaszweifel.blogspot.com/.

P.S. To read more about a leader's integrity and ethical dilemmas, browse in my book The Rabbi and the CEO: The Ten Commandments for 21st Century Leaders (co-authored with Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin), a National Jewish Book Award and Foreword Book of the Year finalist.