Mike Lupica Understands Comparisons between Anthony Weiner and Bill Clinton, Particularly When Imus Makes Them

As he waited for the cue that it was time to talk, a thought occurred to Mike Lupica: Had Rep. Anthony Weiner ever been a guest on this program on a Wednesday, the morning Blonde on Blonde airs? If so, he concluded, “It’s amazing that he was able to even make it out of the green room.”
 
Weiner, who confessed on Monday that he has been conducting online relationships with several women and sending them pictures of various parts of his body, should, in Lupica’s opinion, resign from office.
 
“He’s not going to get past this,” Lupica, a sports and political columnist for the New York Daily News, said. “There really is a Tiger Woods quality. It’s not as many women and it’s not this conga line—right now it’s just one porn actress that we know about.”
 
You know you’re in trouble when that’s the basis for comparison.
 
Weiner’s troubles began the Friday before Memorial Day, when the married Congressman accidentally posted a picture of himself in his underpants to his Twitter account, instead of sending it directly to a college student in Washington directly, as he had intended. He quickly took it down; panicked; then lied about it for a week, saying his account had been hacked.
 
“This record of his tweets and the pictures—that’s forever now,” Lupica said. “For him to stay on—this has nothing to do about his constituency, it has nothing to do about what he thinks he can do for the country. Him keeping his job now is—how do I put this, Don?—just another form of self-gratification.”
 
Lupica agreed with Imus that there’s little difference between Weiner’s foible and that of former President Bill Clinton, who actually engaged in physical affairs with numerous women. That Clinton was able to survive and hang on to the office of President was, in Imus’s view, because the Big Dog was more likeable. 
 
What’s more, he added, “His deal was, ‘eatin’ ain’t cheatin’,’” and Lupica, forgetting this was not a private phone conversation between himself and the cowboy, eagerly agreed.
 
Up until two weeks ago, Weiner, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, was considered a frontrunner for Mayor of New York City in 2012. Not so much anymore. “Forget about that job—he’s not going to keep the job he has now,” Lupica said.
 
Miami Heat star LeBron James should have no trouble keeping his job, even though he scored just 8 points in last night’s contest against the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat lost the game, and the NBA Championship series is now tied 2-2. If Miam wants to win, Lupica observed, “They better start throwing the ball to LeBron.”
 
Presumably, he will cover this and other topics on his own radio show, which airs weekdays from 2-3pm on 1050 ESPN in New York. Taking a page from the I-Man’s playbook, Lupica noted, “If you can’t engage in personal attacks, what the hell’s the point of having a radio show?
 
-Julie Kanfer