What will Anthony Weiner do now? 4 possibilities

What does Anthony Weiner's future hold? The disgraced ex-congressman's bid for redemption ended in humiliating failure on Tuesday, after he finished a distant fifth in the Democratic primary for New York's mayoral race. And of all the questions leveled at him by the press, the one that finally provoked him to raise his middle finger was, "What's your plan for tomorrow?"

Weiner still had no real answer to that question when The New York Times caught up with him the following day. "[He] said he had not decided on a next step," reported Michael M. Grynbaum, adding that his first order of business was to "catch up on Breaking Bad and take in a Mets game."

But now that Weiner has wiped the flop sweat of Tuesday night from his brow, perhaps it's time to give his future a little more thought. Here's what he could do next:

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1. Go on cable TV

In his pre-sexting days, Weiner was an enthusiastic talking head on MSNBC, and many point out that he possesses both a big enough ego and a big enough mouth to fit right in with cable TV's roster of political bloviators. It's one job that "actually embraces the egomaniacal side of humanity," media analyst Andrew Kirell told The Washington Times:

2. Return to politics

Some have speculated that Weiner's quixotic bid for mayor was actually a form of "political bloodletting," an attempt to wring the scandal dry and set him up for a humbler return down the line. "When he does something for the future, it will be fair of him to say 'asked and answered,'" said Bill Brandt in The Hill. "I'm pretty certain he'll find his equilibrium and move forward from there…there are a lot of offices where he can offer phenomenal service."

Weiner did, after all, convince 31,800 people to vote for him, tarred name and all. But the experience of fellow disgraced ex-politician Eliot Spitzer suggests that might be a tough ask. Even five years removed from scandal, Spitzer was unable to win the race for the relatively lowly position of city comptroller.

3. Divorce his wife

Huma Abedin's absence from Weiner's latter campaign events — as well as Weiner's conspicuous failure to thank her by name in his concession speech — has prompted suspicion that their three-year marriage may be on the rocks. Abedin, a close adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, stayed loyal to Weiner when his sexting scandal resurfaced in June, but has since kept an extremely low profile. Any divorce will likely be a quiet affair carried out far from the tabloids, speculated Daniel Greenfield at FrontPage Magazine:

4. Dance with the stars

It's unlikely Weiner will ever be able to completely escape the scandal that has so badly wrecked his career — so perhaps the best thing for him to do now is embrace the infamy it has brought him. And there's one place that has offered sanctuary to fallen political stars from Tom DeLay to Sarah Palin: