I’m with Peter Beinart on the general principle that we should pay less attention to politicians’ adulteries (and attempted adulteries), but not on the application of the principle to the case of Anthony Weiner. If an open mic caught a politician trying to seduce someone, or he had accidentally sent an email intended for his mistress to his press list, what possible justification could there be for not reporting it? And if he then spent a week lying about it. . . . In other words, this isn’t a case where reporters have followed his every move looking to see what hotel he is checking into and with whom.
P.S. Beinart says that the people calling for Weiner’s resignation lack “empathy,” “compassion,” etc. Actually, it’s those who have his best interests at heart who should be telling him to go.