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Newlywed Advice: How The Clintons May Be Counseling Rep. Weiner And Huma Abedin

Marriage Ref
» 31 comments

Rep. Anthony Weiner bitterly joked on CNN the other day that he hopes his marriage survives its first anniversary next month. Much has happened since that joke, and with today’s revelations that Rep. Weiner might have a “sexting” problem, the odds of succeeding there dropped precipitously. At times like this, couples may turn to the person who officiated their wedding for ‘spiritual’ guidance. In Rep. Weiner’s case, that means one Bill Clinton could be offering advice on how to salvage a marriage smeared by a sex scandal. He does, after all, have some experience in that department.

The former president, of course, does not have a known record of putting illicit photos of himself on the internet, but one could argue this is a generational coincidence. His marriage and presidency both survived the greatest (yet most frivolous) political scandal since Watergate when the President was found to have engaged in oral sex with a White House intern, prompting a generation of ’90s kids to ask their embarrassed parents: “What’s oral sex?” Shirtless photos to an unknown recipient– Big Government describes her as “the young girl,” eliminating the possibility that the recipient could be his wife– may seem like child’s play to a man whose libido almost got him impeached.

Given that “Weinergate” is nothing if not a scandal fueled by unnecessary speculation, one can’t help but wonder what President Clinton would tell Rep. Weiner to do in times like these, perhaps over a fancy dinner in Manhattan. Oh, to be a fly in that soup. The former president had similar tools in his favor to the Congressman; for one, neither of them have ever run on a “family values” platform, nor have pretended to be morally superior to anyone. The hypocrisy factor is nonexistent. As a master politician, one could imagine Clinton to be advising Rep. Weiner to use that to his advantage, as well anything on his political record that categorically defies “family values,” like gay and abortion rights. Any savvy political observer would realize that abortion has nothing to do with same sex couples, which has nothing to do with sexting, but savvy political observers are not his target demographic at the moment.

Then there’s the oratory Rep. Weiner should be using to ingratiate himself with a public whose collective eyebrow now rests somewhere solidly in their widow’s peak. Here the Congressman has been at his weakest, calling a cable news producer a “jackass” in his first presser, telling Wolf Blitzer that he could not “with certitude” identify his own crotch, and ultimately simply shutting all of the media down. The little he has spoken to the press has only served to turn them against him. Clinton was far less combative in his day– choosing to admit his transgressions without admitting them (“I did not have sex with that woman” was sort of true), and sticking to quibbling over insignificant details when pressed on facts that matter– like the definition of “is.” It was ultimately so absurd it won those with a wry enough sense of humor and lack of trust in government over. Given that Rep. Weiner’s political career is cut of a similar cloth, using humor and distraction in his favor– as well as angering the sort of Republican that would win him fans on the left– could very well help him out of this.

And, of course, one imagines the former Commander in Chief would have one final bit of highly detailed, incredibly important advice: “If you have any spare dresses lying around, send them to the cleaners. Immediately.”

That Rep. Weiner and President Clinton are known to double date is not exclusively the province of their friendship– Huma Abedin rose to prominence as an aide to Sen. Hillary Clinton long before she was married to the New York Congressman. One could imagine the former First Lady has a little bit of advice on making lemonade out of infidelity, too, given her ability to survive– and thrive– in light of her husband’s hurtful mischief. As collateral damage in this mess, Abedin has far fewer options from which to choose; it’s basically either “sit tight” or “go public.” The current Secretary of State wrote the playbook on how to survive an international sex scandal and wind up in a better position, avoiding being pegged a victim, but her circumstances and ambitions were so far from Abedin’s current reality that the rules in said playbook may not even apply.

For one, Clinton had a decades-long marriage and a teenage daughter to worry about. While he may not have proven it in any physical way, the President had fulfilled his commitment of sticking beside her for the better part of a lifetime. Rep. Weiner has apparently been loyal for, at most, about ten months (today’s photos having been sent in May). Not being able to resist other women (allegedly) less than a year into their union– that’s some serious marital ADD. With no children to worry about and no proof of commitment, it’s possible Hillary Clinton could have some very divergent advice from the behavior she displayed herself, although Abedin’s dignified silence up to this point is quite reminiscent of Clinton’s poise at the time.

For now, the evidence is incomplete– though damning– and the odds stacked against them. After all, even if Rep. Weiner somehow manages to explain this one away, what could become months of public scorn and scrutiny may take its toll on the couple– all the more reason they may be turning to the gold standard of teflon couples for help.

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  • Tedderman

    Hillary to Huma: Just let some dumb intern service him when you’re too tired or have a headache but tell him If he gets caught, “don’t lie!”

  • Alz

    Hillary to Huma: “Comrade, you don’t really love him do you? The Party comes before all else! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

    Huma is probably one confused girl about now. We’ll see if she can forget everything she was brought up on and turn to the party.

  • Member of Congress

    All you weenie Weiner appologists bow down to the GREAT Andrew Breitbart! He has punked you all! Weiner, resign now! AB! AB! AB! AB! AB! AB! AB!

    Here is America’s response to the Weiner:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxV_wjpUeGY

  • Tedderman

    Huma told the Weiner they’ll pull through this.

  • TeaPartyNation

    For those who don’t know, The Weiner is married to a former staffer for hillary clinton. My guess is that The Weiner, in his teeny tiny d-cRAT socialist mind, probably now thinks he has some sort of lunatic-left blessing to act like “monica-stain” bill and, like bill, he’ll get away with his perversions by saying such (nit) witty things as “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is”.

    Let’s hope not.

  • Anne 1

    I know nothing about Huma Abedin , and it’s good to finally see a woman with the good sense not to stand up there on the dais , with their train wreck of a husband , and pretend everything is going to be fine .

  • Scrapette Jones

    Anne 1, exactly my thoughts…and I was not thinking about her past that, just that hey, thank gawd she’s not up there doing the stance of shared shame. On another note, how will Stewart spin this one tonight?

  • http://constitutionallibertarian.co.cc DavidKramer

    Political people like Hillary care not about honor, fidelity, responsibility, they only care about power.

    I am sure the discussion went something like, forgive him, if you do you will have all the trappings of power that come from being married to a powerful political representative.

    Only problem, IS THE STORY OVER?

  • Dem4Ever

    Weiner is a lying dog…hot dog that is…LOL What’s his wife’s phone number? I’ll take her if Weiner would rather chase younger tail.

  • juan

    What a HOOT!

  • juan

    DavidKramer said:
    Political people like Hillary care not about honor, fidelity, responsibility, they only care about power.

    I am sure the discussion went something like, forgive him, if you do you will have all the trappings of power that come from being married to a powerful political representative.

    Only problem, IS THE STORY OVER?

    Nope, there is much more! Investigations, ethics charges, etc!

    He should rRESIGN. now!

  • http://constitutionallibertarian.co.cc DavidKramer

    juan said:
    Nope, there is much more! Investigations, ethics charges, etc!

    He should rRESIGN. now!

    Yep, it has already begun.
    In the conference he lied again. He stated he never used government resources, only thing is that one of the girls attempted to call him back at the phone number he was using. Turned out to be a government one way phone line.

    Oh well, like the Democrats like to say, it is not against the law to lie to your wife, media, or your constituents.

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    You can’t make this ______ up.

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  • WillP

    This is actually very interesting because Bill Clinton did not resign. And Hillary did not want him to resign. Weiner however is not a second term president. Therein lies the most important difference. His wife ultimately may have the most influence behind the scenes at least for now that is a matter of days. My hunch is that Weiner will have a hard time working going forward. A House ethics investigation. Women coming forward giving interviews. This is going to get uglier.I promise. Weiner may not even want to be in Congress a week from now.

  • bumsrush

    My advice to Frances Martel – get outta journalism!

  • WillP

    bumsrush said:
    My advice to Frances Martel – get outta journalism!

    The more you think about it the two situations are quite different in nature. The one striking similarity is that of a husband who was unfaithful to his wife. But, even there you enter a gray area. Bill Clinton was a serial womanizer going back to 1978 with Gennifer Flowers. Is there any evidence that Weiner actually carried out an affair or just played games over the computer with these women. That is unfaithful, reprehensible conduct, but it pales to the sexual exploits of Clinton.
    There is a lot more to the background that Martel could have raised. Hillary Clinton was already seriously considering her own political career. It was in her interests for Bill Clinton to remain president.
    Perhaps, the most important difference is that the Monica Lewinsky affair which was the real sexual scandal for Clinton, was just another chapter in the “right wing conspiracy” or rather against the Clinton’s. This was the frame through which Bill and Hillary viewed Kenneth Starr and his prosecution for lying about Monica Lewinsky.
    I already discussed in my last post the critically important difference in that Bill Clinton was a second term president while Anthony Weiner is merely a congressman whose job security is far more tenable as a result.
    So to summarize, it is a rough comparison at best. If I were doing an editorial on a comparison between the two scandals these are a few points that I would have certainly fleshed out.
    I further disagree with a number of points that Martel brings up. Chief among them, this is now a real scandal despite her assertion to the contrary. Weiner has been publicly lying for a week until this afternoon. So she is wrong about this very critical point. I could comment further about disagreements I have with her editorial, but I’m tired. I’m going to bed. If she or someone else has a specific comment let me know because there is a lot more I could say…

  • Gorgegirl

    Tedderman said:
    Huma told the Weiner they’ll pull through this.

    She’s probably seen more on Jockey Short ads as well. Or, don’t forget the Sears catalog goof a few years back.

  • Gorgegirl

    WillP said:
    This is actually very interesting because Bill Clinton did not resign. And Hillary did not want him to resign. Weiner however is not a second term president. Therein lies the most important difference. His wife ultimately may have the most influence behind the scenes at least for now that is a matter of days. My hunch is that Weiner will have a hard time working going forward. A House ethics investigation. Women coming forward giving interviews. This is going to get uglier.I promise. Weiner may not even want to be in Congress a week from now.

    This wasn’t a solicitation for sex. And, it wasn’t sending pictures of a naked penis. Like I previously said, there was nothing more here than you would see in a Jockey short ad.

  • Gorgegirl

    Anne 1 said:
    I know nothing about Huma Abedin , and it’s good to finally see a woman with the good sense not to stand up there on the dais , with their train wreck of a husband , and pretend everything is going to be fine .

    I doubt he asked her to stand up there with him. He chose to take it like a real man – not like Larry Craig and other republicans who were “soliciting” sex instead of just sending a suggestive photo.

  • tws258

    Gorgegirl said:
    I doubt he asked her to stand up there with him. He chose to take it like a real man – not like Larry Craig and other republicans who were “soliciting” sex instead of just sending a suggestive photo.

    Yeah , he took it like a man , after lying about it for days . Dear lord some people SHORT memories.

  • WillP

    Gorgegirl said:
    This wasn’t a solicitation for sex. And, it wasn’t sending pictures of a naked penis. Like I previously said, there was nothing more here than you would see in a Jockey short ad.

    I think you need to reevaluate your facts. There were phone conversations not just the sending of lewd pictures. So given this fact that most certainly means some type of phone sex.

  • WillP

    tws258 said:
    Yeah , he took it like a man , after lying about it for days . Dear lord some people SHORT memories.

    Exactly. And that is why I predict there will be no love lost for him. He tried covering it up smearing people, giving reporters and colleagues nonsense explanations for a week. If he had come out in full force from the start with the truth he would most certainly be in better political shape right now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Don-Lond/100000950693221 Don Lond

    I could lip-read in realtime Hilloary’s whispered advice to the slef-denegrated one:

    “For our party’s sake Weiner, just keep saying, I don’t remember” it worked for me on Travel-gate”

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Don-Lond/100000950693221 Don Lond

    “While he (Clinton) may not have proven it in any physical way, the President had fulfilled his commitment of sticking beside her for the better part of a lifetime.’

    I guess this is the left’s new Godless standard of loyalty. Ignoring his perpetual womanizing, and reluctantly having to accept the inarguable blue dress eviedence. He only cheated late in life -he’s a good man…

    Sort of like saying of the 9/11 terrorists, “up until they actually hit the WTC they were just breaking some minor FAA regulations by straying – they’re really nice guys….”

    How sick the is the selectivly fractured morality of the left.

  • justanotherconservative

    DavidKramer said:
    IS THE STORY OVER

    I don’t think so…

  • justanotherconservative

    Many of the wives of these political perverts are in it for the money and the power. Hillary certainly is..was. It remains to be seen about the weiner’s wife. Will she stay or will she go? My guess is she will stay. She has a lot to lose if she goes.

  • Just4thefax

    Fact: Give it a little while….. It was Bush’s fault…

  • http://none pyrope

    “I did not have sex with that woman, Moniker Lewinskenberg.” –Hillary Clitton.

  • http://none pyrope

    In other words

    DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY
    DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY
    DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY
    DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY
    DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY
    DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY DENY

  • Anonymous

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