There's something a little, ah, weird in the way that serial public wang-dangler Anthony Weiner is addressing his scandalabra. I noticed it yesterday in the press conference, and I heard it today on the radio.
It's a certain, shall we say, exhibitionism. An eagerness to talk about what he professes he doesn't want to talk about.
Notice how light and buoyant his tone is. It's completely discordant with his words, which convey, partially, regret and shame.
Notice where he held his press conference yesterday: in his campaign office, with campaign workers scurrying around behind him. His staging forced other people to share in his embarrassment.
Notice the way he quickly plunged back into public events, making himself available to the media he knows will ask him about NOTHING but his penis until the last one of his six to ten online paramours steps forward.
Weiner knows that he commands the attention of the press, and he knows that the press wants to talk about his sex life, and he seems happy to oblige.
No: this communication strategy is not a political ploy to try and downplay the gravity of the scandal and present an upbeat face to the media.
As MSNBC's Chris Hayes notes, Weiner seems to thrive off of his own scandal. He's a cow chewing his own cud and relishing its taste.
This COMPLETELY makes sense. He is an exhibitionist. He is not able to compartmentalize his sexual appetites from his public duties. He gets off on this stuff.
He's not going quit being an exhibitionist. Hey, no one likes a quitter.
