New York City’s political elite have spent days attacking Anthony Weiner’s increasingly embattled mayoral campaign. On Sunday, it was Washington’s turn.
Hours after his campaign manager quit in the wake of new revelations about his online conduct, Weiner found himself assailed by a parade of prominent political figures who called on the candidate to exit the race.
“At this point, it’s absurd,” David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to US President Barack Obama, said during an appearance on Meet the Press on NBC, which devoted a segment to Weiner’s scandal between reports on the US economy and tumult in Egypt.
“He is not going to be the next mayor of New York; he is wasting time and space,” added Axelrod, who had no qualms about his animus toward Weiner. “It’s time for him to go away and let New York have its mayor’s race.”
Dee Dee Myers, a press secretary in former US president Bill Clinton’s administration, said on Face the Nation on CBS that she believed the chaos and tabloid titillation surrounding Weiner had been “very painful” for Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who are close with Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, to witness.
“Look, this isn’t a story that anybody, particularly the Clintons, are happy to see splashed over the front pages,” Myers said. “If they could choose they would certainly have Weiner get out of the race and Huma to get on with their life.”
Myers said later that she had not spoken to the Clintons or to anyone in their inner circle.
Veteran CBS News anchor Bob Schieffe said on Face the Nation that Weiner’s continuing attempt to become mayor of New York “is not funny — it is sickening.” He added that the candidate had “no business” seeking to run City Hall.
For his part, Weiner, who appeared at a church in Brownsville, Brooklyn, on Sunday morning, tried to sound a defiant note.
“We’ve gotten more volunteers and more people coming over the transom to help the campaign in the last several days than any time since the campaign started,” he told reporters.
However, he declined to elaborate on why his campaign manager, Danny Kedem, had resigned, saying only: “He did a remarkable job.”
Aides to Weiner have said there are few indications that he is considering leaving the race.
In an interview published on Sunday in the Staten Island Advance, Weiner made his intentions clear, saying: “You’re stuck with me.”
He went as far as to joke about raising his young son, Jordan, in Gracie Mansion, but he conceded that the past week had taken a toll.
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