Anthony Weiner Remains In Mayor’s Race, Huma Abedin: ‘I Believe In Him’

So Anthony Weiner, disgraced former Democratic U.S. representative from New York and long-suffering sext-addict, is back in the spotlight. But this time, when he was forced to answer to the public, he had a secret weapon: his wife, Huma Abedin.

As revelations emerged this week that his aberrant behavior continued even after he left Congress in disgrace, Anthony Weiner — who is currently running for mayor of New York City — gave a press conference early this evening and informed the public that he has no intention of withdrawing from the mayor’s race. He states that ?Huma Abedin, his wife and former aide to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, knew all along about his continued digital indiscretions.

anthony wiener huma abedin nyc mayor race
Abedin in her role as aide to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton

Is it FINALLY over? He says that it is.

“This is entirely behind me. It was when I decided to get in [the mayor’s race] and we had this conversation.”

OK, so Anthony Weiner was willing to give up his shutter-fly ways for the opportunity to become mayor of New York City, but not for his wife, his son, or even his own dignity?

Weiner offered an(other) apology and said that he is?”very sorry for anyone who was at the receiving end of these messages.”?Yeah, we’re all sorry we were on the receiving end, too.

He acknowledged that there are only “49 days left until primary day” and that he is?”surprised that things didn’t come out sooner.” Well, Anthony…did you ever think that maybe you could just TELL us??? No need to hold back. We’ve had enough surprises.

He indicated that he is “pleased?and blessed that she’s [Abedin] given me a second chance” and he is asking New Yorkers to also give him a second chance.

When pressed about the timing of the cessation of his antics, Anthony Weiner only offered that the exhibitionism continued during the time that he and Abedin were “working through some things” in their marriage. He stressed that the situation was?”a very public thing that we had happen to us” but that it didn’t change his “vision.” I actually sort of believe that, Anthony, but dang I’m sick of hearing about your “weiner” and the insecurity behind the narcissism that drives this maddening behavior. Get your act together, dude!

anthony wiener huma abedin mayor's race nyc
Source: Weiner Facebook Page

So what did he do next? Anthony Weiner called in his wife, the person who is the true victim in this entire sordid affair, to defend him. She stood right there beside him as she fought to save her husband’s shaky political future. Huma Abedin is a brave and beautiful woman, but this was cringe-worthy. Here is the entire text of her statement, and the first public statement she has ever made about the scandal.

“As many of you who have followed this campaign know, I’ve spent a good deal of time out on the campaign trail, but this is the first time I’ve spoken at a press conference so I’m a little nervous, so I’ll read my statement.

When we faced this publicly two years ago, it was the beginning of a time in our marriage that was very difficult and it took us a very long time to get through it. Our marriage, like many others, has had its ups and down. It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony. It was not an easy choice in any way, but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage. That was a decision that I made for me, for our son, and for our family. I didn’t know how it would work out, but i did know that I wanted to give it a try.

Anthony has made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned and after, but I do very strongly believe that it is between us and our marriage. We discussed all of this before Anthony decided to run for mayor. So really what I want to say is I love him, I’ve forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.”

Anthony Wiener mayor race huma abedine
Awww, thanks babe 😀

I’m sick of Anthony Weiner. As MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said prior to the press conference:

“This is being thrown at us, it’s not investigative reporting. It’s a guy coming into our private lives with his strangeness. It’s an invasion of our privacy.”

Matthews continued with “he’s streaking digitally down the street to us” and this is?”embarrassing to us all.”

Yes, indeed. I believe Anthony Weiner would probably be a good mayor for New York City. He was a strong public servant and his liberal values are music to our liberal ears. We just really want him to behave, and we (I) don’t like how he’s treating his wife. She’s suffered quite a bit of indignity already, and to have to stand up there publicly today and defend his actions is really a bit much. It’s reminiscent of Maria Shriver’s defense of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the face of scandalous rumors years ago.

“You can listen to all the negativity, and you can listen to people who have never met Arnold, or who met him for five seconds 30 years ago, or you can listen to me.”

We all know how that turned out.

I’d like to see Anthony Weiner and Huma Abeden’s story end differently. I’d like for this talented and intelligent young man to GROW UP and “GROW A PAIR.” And I’m not talking about “the pair” that most of us have already seen via his tweeted photos. It would be cool for him to grow the kind of symbolic “pair” that real men have. We have things to do in our cities and in this country and we don’t have time for this nonsense. Will Anthony Weiner be able to overcome his crippling concupiscence? His wife thinks so. I hope she’s right.

I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.