'He lied about the affair" is the same argument the GOP used in impeaching Clinton.

[Odin2005]

So if you say Weiner should resign then you are also saying Clinton should have been impeached.

[DainBramaged]

1. HEAR HEAR

They won't get it. Their purity is more important. Sack cloth and ashes for everyone, damn the politics involved....

[Odin2005]

5. Yup. We are ALL flawed human beings.

Show me a perfect person and I will show you the Second Coming of Jebus.

[iemitsu]

14. it is especially silly to expect a politician

to be perfect. it is not be in their nature.

[cali]

2. I don't buy that even though I don't think Weiner should resign

(though I think he will) and I didn't think Clinton should resign.

[littlewolf]

3. there is a difference between lying under oath and lying about this ...

it isn't an affair... he lied about sending a picture ...

[DJ13]

4. Clinton was DLC

And I suspect a great many of those expressing their faux outrage think similarly, and see a chance to eliminate a progressive here.

[Odin2005]

8. Yup. It is how the corporatocracy controls liberal politicians.

"toe the line or we will take out the skeletons in your closet!".

[scheming daemons]

6. To be fair, they used the "while under oath" addendum

..

[ChrisBorg]

7. Weiner was never under oath. This is one of the reasons he didn't bring the authorities in on it.

Big difference.

[Odin2005]

11. See post 10.

[ClarkUSA]

9. Wrong. DINO "Call me, Paul Ryan!" Bill was impeached for lying under oath aka. committing perjury.

If Bubba hadn't done such a stupid thing, he wouldn't have been impeached.

[Odin2005]

10. So do you think Clinton should have been removed from office?

If no then you cannot also say Weiner should resign

[ChrisBorg]

16. There is a huge difference between a sitting President and a Congressman.

Just to put the under oath aspect aside.

[lynne]

12. Clinton lied while under oath, opening the gate for a perjury charge -

- and that's considerably different than lying to your family, the media, and your constituents. Both are lacking in character but only one is potentially illegal.

[DURHAM D]

18. No he didn't but the rightwing message lives on at DU.

It gets so old.

[lynne]

24. Clinton didn't lie under oath? That's not what I understood -

- How do you figure that?

[DURHAM D]

26. Here you go -

Myth: Clinton committed perjury.
Fact: Clinton’s answers were legally accurate.

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-clintonperjury.html

If you are really interested in the truth read the whole thing including the 5 perjury charge rebuttals at the bottom.

Bottom line - Clinton was the best legal mind in the room and avoided perjury because he was smarter than the wall of ass wipes on the other side.

[lynne]

30. Reading comprehension is your friend -

- I said "opened the door" - I did not say he was convicted of perjury. His lying under oath made the right and the media scream about perjury charges and it did nothing but make the matter worse and led to his impeachment. Had he come clean in the beginning, it may have all blown over - no pun intended. He may have been the best legal mind in the room but he was sure lacking in common sense.

[DURHAM D]

33. So, either you didn't read the info provided or you

didn't understand it.

[leftynyc]

32. He lied, but not to the grand jury

He lied during the Paula Jones deposition when asked if he was ever alone with Lewinsky and said no. They impeached him for lying to the grand jury which he did not do.

[Prism]

13. No. He wrongly accused others of criminality.

That's what bothers me. Not the sex stuff. Not the lying about sex stuff.

He claimed a crime occurred, and people, in their heat to defend him, started naming names and making false accusations.

That really bothers me. It's not ok.

[Hippo_Tron]

27. I don't remember him specifically accusing anybody of a crime

I do remember him saying that the best explanation was that the account had been hacked. That's insinuating that a crime may have been committed, not accusing somebody of a crime.

[frazzled]

15. Watch this video compilation and see if you still feel that way

He willingly went on every show in the country for ten days and repeatedly created a story saying he'd been hacked. He didn't even do it well. He can no longer be a spokesperson for any cause, because he--not the media, not others--blew his own credibility.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/video-anthony-weiners-brutal-week-the-lowlights.php?ref=fpblg

[Renew Deal]

43. Some people are morally bankrupt

And so are some of the people willing to excuse anything they do.

[LiberalAndProud]

17. Actually, I remember watching Clinton admit to his lie.

Because I believed him when he shook his finger at the camera and said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." I was furious with him when he fessed up. At the time, I thought he should resign.

In restrospect, that would have given us President Al Gore and perhaps an edge in 2000. The Lewinsky scandal that went on and on for four more years didn't do our country any favors. And there wasn't any progressive legislation to be had after that.

I love Weiner's ideas, but he has been wounded. I'd be happy for him to stay in Congress, but I wonder if that's even possible now.

[DURHAM D]

20. God - you wanted Clinton to resign? Really? Really?

You think Gore would have been able to move some liberal issues. Really?

I will have some of what you are smokin'...

[LiberalAndProud]

23. It was my first (fleeting) thought when watching. It isn't that I wanted his head on a platter.

And I wasn't upset that he didn't resign. In fact, the impeachment fuss that followed was highly entertaining. But I don't think I overestimate the damage the stupid scandal did over the long run. At the time I was listening to opposition radio (Rush) on a daily basis. It was a daily flogging ... on and on and on and on ... endless.

It isn't that I think Gore could have done better than Clinton. It is that I think he would have been a HUGE improvement over Bush. And I just wonder ...

[lumberjack_jeff]

40. Would Gore have been elected in 2000 as the incumbent?

One never knows what lies on the road not taken, does one?

[Philippine expat]

41. I don't think Gore would have moved liberal issues

but there is no doubt in my mind he would have beaten Bush in 2000
as the incumbent

[scarletwoman]

19. I get what you're saying, but...

(a) It's a much bigger deal to throw out a President than it is to throw out a House member (oops, no pun intended) who has to face re-election every two years no matter what.

(b) We actually paid a pretty heavy price for Clinton's sexcapades -- the election of GW Bush. Gore was undeniably handicapped by Clinton's Monica scandal. It is definitely arguable that Gore could have/should have more openly embraced the legacy of the Clinton administration -- but the fact is, because of Clinton's sexual misbehavior, Gore felt that he needed to distance himself from it.

(c) Consider this: might we not have been better off if Clinton HAD been thrown out of office? As VP, Gore would have stepped into the presidency, and as an incumbent he might have had a much better shot at winning the 2000 election.

Frankly, I think Clinton's lack of sexual self-control cost our country a LOT. And Weiner's lack of sexual self-control is going to cost progressives in particular a great deal as well.

sw

[Odin2005]

21. It was suspected that JFK was having affairs. Nobody cared.

RW Baby Boomers came to power in 1994 and suddenly human foibles like infidelity meant you had to go. :eyes:

[scarletwoman]

22. Well, speaking as baby boomer who lived through those days, I can tell you that the culture

was categorically different. The press did not make it their business to go around sniffing crotches back then, it simply was not done.

There was always gossip, of course, but it wasn't confused with actual journalism.

I think the blame lies more in 24 hour cable news - thank Bush 1's "Desert Storm" and the rise of CNN for that.

sw

[Arkansas Granny]

35. I'm not even sure that Clinton's problems had that much to do with Gore

not being elected. If you consider that Clinton's approval ratings went up even during the impeachment procedings, I don't know that it was that much of a deal breaker for most people. It still would have been close, but had it not been for the mess in Florida, we would have had a President Gore, regardless what Clinton's failings were.

[larkrake]

25. what affair?

[JoePhilly]

34. Lots of folks seem to be missing that tiny detail it seems.

The media first and foremost.

[Supply Side Jesus]

28. kick

[DeadEyeDyck]

29. I am watching Criminal Minds right now

and realize that I am ashamed of all those sick assholes that think they can shit all over the entire US people.

I am drunk but "fuck you:to you that think this is ok. He has shit on all of us and toforgive him isw a total sukck off. we deserve better. (i deserve better)/


I hate this party.m mfuck you

[leftynyc]

31. Clinton lied under oath

It was never a matter of simply lying about the affair. One is a crime against the state, the other is a crime against a spouse.

[WatsonT]

36. Believe it or not some folks do consider blatant lying by politicians to be a bad thing

Crazy I know, but it's true.

[TheKentuckian]

38. Now if we could get them to care about the lies that affect us all instead of crotch sniffing, we'd

be somewhere.

[WatsonT]

44. It seems if a politician would blatantly lie about personal things

then they would likewise lie about more important things. Hard to argue that "yes I would cover an affair to avoid unpleasant questions, but I wouldn't dare lie to cover up illegal campaign contributions just to avoid jail and impeachment".

[Philippine expat]

37. Not at all

Clinton should not of been impeached, however he should have resigned
and so should Weiner

[kestrel91316]

39. Yep. And in this case, there WAS no affair, and there WAS no lying to Congress.

So how one can consider Weiner even remotely as bad as Clinton is beyond me. And I don't think CLINTON should have been treated the way he was.

Fucking nanny stater Dems, buncha prudes, you'd think WE were the bible beaters in this picture.

[Renew Deal]

42. That's about as idiotic as it gets.

[WinkyDink]

45. Who here is calling for Weiner to resign?