Weiner For Mayor: All Jokes Aside, Anthony Weiner Would Be a Great Mayor

Giggling innuendos were good enough for Shakespeare and Dickens, so I'm not surprised by people's reactions. But the bursts of 5th grader impulse that sometime escape us should not detract from recognizing that Anthony Weiner is one of the best candidates to run the Big Apple.

Unfortunately, it's his own commitment that seems to be wavering. Perhaps he's right to doubt whether people will accept him in a new narrative. Not because he doesn't have the qualities of a great candidate, but rather that most voters are too immature to look beyond a groin.

The very same people who decry the presence of gay marriage or abortion on the landscape of political debate seem to shy away from defending a man whose only "crimes" were of sexual impulse. Power will always go to those who crave it, and yearn to act towards greatness. It is as base a vanity and ego-driven desire as any other. Why we continue to pretend politicians might actually embody the moral platitudes they cloak themselves in is truly beyond me. In that regard, there is no one I mistrust more than someone who claims to be morally purer than others.

I couldn't care less if you're a family man, a swinging couple, or part of a monthly reading club that turns into a midnight orgy as long as you work towards your promises, care about the citizens who voted for you, and get the job done. Historically, when Republicans are brought down in sex scandals, there tends to be a painful irony involved: champions of homophobic laws hypocritically caught creeping into their forbidden closets. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton and his cigars took the national spotlight while he was busy embarrassing conservatives with Democratic economics.

Anthony Weiner is a New York native who served the city's 9th congressional district for over ten years, after serving as a New York City councilman for six. He is pro-choice, one of the few true champions of public healthcare, and in 2008 created the bi-partisan Congressional Middle Class Caucus, a dedication he has continued in his new manifesto.

As a Jewish man, some of his words against Saudi Arabia's lack of effort to curb terrorism have been inflammatory, but he also married a practicing Muslim — Huma Abedin. As his wife, she also happens to be the only person alive who can rightfully hold Anthony Weiner accountable for his sexual behavior. Her choice to stand by him, and recently birth his son, should be conclusive enough of an answer to satisfy anyone.

The stupidest political decision Anthony Weiner ever made was yielding to manufactured public indignation and quitting. I only hope that bank-busting Elizabeth Warren doesn't get marred in scandal, because Washington desperately needs candidates that actually believe in the responsibilities of their work.

Anthony Weiner was a raging, devoted and passionate political voice — one which is sorely absent from Congress. Perhaps New York, a city filled with people escaping their past and working towards a new life, will see fit to choose him as their leader.