Common Sense Isn't So Common

Common sense must be dead. Or maybe, as the familiar saying goes, common sense ain't that common. That must be true because there is a rise in people doing ridiculously stupid things that they should know will get them in trouble. I read two articles last week that are examples of people doing ridiculous things that got them into trouble. Both relate to people being excessively uninhibited in public. Of course, I'm talking about Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York. But sadly, he's not the only idiot in our midst.

Before I begin on Weiner, I feel the need to tell about a faux pas one couple committed in a graveyard. Yeah, you read correctly. A graveyard. The couple was having sex when the woman got injured after a headstone fell on her leg (http://weirdnews.aol.com/2011/06/03/new-jersey-tombstone-woman-injured_n_870890.html).

My first thought when I read the headline was how stupid can you be? Apparently pretty damn stupid. And creepy. Someone please explain to me what is exciting about having sex around a bunch of dead people? Are people that starved for excitement in their sex lives? Not only is it creepy, but incredibly disrespectful. I would be highly upset if I found out someone was having sex by my grandmother's grave. So not only is common sense dead, but common courtesy seems to be also. I won't say that the woman deserved what she got, but she certainly brought it on herself.

So back to Weiner. The latest is he now wants to go get "treatment" for his problem. What problem is that? Stupidity? There ain't no treatment for that bub. What he needs to do is to take on the strategy he did when he ran for the office he now refuses to give up. He obviously was intelligent and clever enough to get himself elected; now he needs to use that bit of intelligence to keep from getting booted out of the House of Representatives.

It is quite possible, however that Weiner is working a strategy. All political scandals eventually blow over, and this one will be no exception. Perhaps Weiner believes that he will be able to get back the respect of the American people once the smoke settles. And that is possible, because anything is possible in politics. DC Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry is proof of that. In 1990, Barry was involved in a drug scandal and was arrested by the FBI for cocaine possession and caught on tape using drugs (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/tours/scandal/barry.htm). Barry suffered a short setback, but he bounced back just two short years later winning a seat on city council in 1992 and then as the city's mayor once again in 1994 (http://www.dccouncil.us/Marion_Barry_Bio).

So maybe Weiner is smart to refuse to resign. Maybe he knows something we don't - that America is so obsessed with scandal that we will forget about his gaffe as soon as another one pops up. And he's probably right. Kind of makes America look more stupid than him. Both sad and scary.

The truth is, America does have an obsession with scandal. Proof of that is the fact that Weiner’s gaffe made national news, when there was nothing newsworthy or political about what he did. He didn't make a politcal faux pas, he made a personal faux pas. It was a masssively idiotic thing to do, but I don’t think he should have to resign because of it. He should apologize to his wife, go get some marriage counseling and start acting like a mature, married man – not a college kid who gets off on sending immature pictures to would-be admirers. But I don't think he should resign.

I’m not saying I admire the guy, I’m saying that Democrats need to ask themselves, do they want him to resign because he’s an embarrassment or because he’s a bad legislator? If the answer is the former, that’s a stupid reason to send him packing. All men who fool around, be it physically or via a computer do stupid things. He just got caught. So do we want him to resign because he got caught? I hope not. Because no one should have to give up a career because a scandal obsessed society cares more about who's screwing who, rather than who's helping who.

America should care more about what Weiner has done for the 9^th district of the state of New York. Not who Weiner showed a photo of his clothed crotch to. In my opinion, it is just as ridiculous to make him leave office as it was for him to do what he did. If he's made a difference in his district, and to his constituents, he will keep making a difference. This mistake does not change that. Bill Clinton was a good president regardless of his indescretion, and I believe Anthony Weiner could be too-even after this scandal. Just as long as in the future, he keeps it in his pants - (pun intended) or in this case, off the Internet.