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403 CONNECT 63 TWEET 52 COMMENTEMAILMORE. Huma Abedin learned the part
of supportive political spouse from the expert: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, comes to his aid
Anthony
Weiner found himself caught in another sexting scandal like the one
that destroyed his congressional career. However, he says he won't drop
out of the New York mayoral race. (July 23)
Huma
Abedin learned the part of supportive political spouse from the expert:
Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now she is trying to save her husband's
political career from a sex scandal the same way her mentor did: own up,
declare it private, and move on.
When former representative Anthony Weiner admitted Tuesday that he had continued to send salacious texts to women he had not met, even after his behavior had forced him to resign from Congress in 2011, Abedin stood with him and continued the public role she has taken in his comeback attempt.
"It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony,'' she said. "I made a decision that it was worth staying in this marriage.''
Admittedly nervous and sometimes near tears, Abedin drew sympathy even though a distraught wife has become a fairly frequent sight in politics.
The Wall Street Journal editorialized Wednesday that Weiner should drop out of the race "simply because of what he's forced his wife to endure. Watching the elegant Huma Abedin stand next to her man Tuesday as he explained his latest sexually charged online exchanges was painful for a normal human being to watch.''
STORY: Weiner rejects calls to quit race
SEXTING: How typical is Anthony Weiner's behavior?
OUR VIEW: Weiner danger
"I have seen a lot of things like this in politics, where males have to lean on their wives for support, but I don't ever recall seeing a wife looking and feeling so sad and embarrassed," Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Wednesday on MSNBC. "Putting her into this political situation, as bright, as intelligent as she is, is very awkward. And my feelings were all for her in terms of what she felt she had to do for her husband. It's a really sad day."
While Abedin was more explicit, and more blunt, her comments echoed those of Clinton from a 1992 appearance on 60 Minutes, when then-candidate Bill Clinton was facing down allegations of an affair with Gennifer Flowers. Then, Clinton said she had chosen to stay married despite all-but-acknowledged infidelity. "I'm not sitting here, some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette,'' Clinton said. "I'm sitting here because I love him and I respect him and I honor what he's been through and what we've been through together.''
Abedin, like Clinton in 1992, pleaded for privacy. "I do very strongly believe that this is between us, in our marriage,'' she told the packed news conference.
Abedin, who turns 37 on Sunday, has been married to Weiner for three years; their wedding was performed by former president Clinton. They now have an 19-month-old son. But since 1996, Abedin has been one of Clinton's closest aides, working with her as first lady, New York senator, 2008 presidential candidate, Secretary of State and now, private citizen. Clinton has said Abedin is like a daughter to her.
It's common for candidates to hope voters will take a wife's word that a husband is worth electing: Michelle Obama and Ann Romney have performed that role. When a candidate gets into trouble, it's vital. "when the wife sticks by you and looks like she means it, it helps,'' says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at the University of Southern California. That was the case in 2007, when Louisiana Sen. David Vitter admitted hiring prostitutes. His wife Wendy spoke at his mea culpa news conference. "I forgave David,'' she said. "I made the decision to love him and to recommit to our marriage. To forgive is not always the easy choice but it was and is the right choice for me.'' Vitter was re-elected in 2010.
Abedin has been visible since Weiner began to orchestrate his comeback: "a critical validator,'' says Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. She has participated in lengthy interviews, she appeared in his campaign launch video, and she has been out on the trail with him. She wrote a first-person essay to be published in the September Harper's Bazaar that could double as a campaign ad for the Sept. 10 mayoral primary: "Anthony has always been a smart, caring, and dedicated person, and while he's the same public servant who wants what's best for the people he represents, he is now something else — a better man,'' she writes.
Abedin has enjoyed far more positive press than Hillary Clinton did in the 1990s. A New York magazine article last week included so much gushing that The New Republic felt compelled to excerpt "The Four Silliest/Creepiest Huma Abedin Descriptions'' in the story, including "her brown eyes were pools of empathy evolved through a thousand generations of what was good and decent in the history of the human race."
Her support of her husband stands in contrast to the other scandal-tinged New York race: former governor Eliot Spitzer is campaigning to become the city's comptroller without visible appearances by his wife, Silda Wall. She appeared, grim-faced but silent, at his 2008 news conference when he resigned after a prostitution scandal. Spitzer says the couple is not separated, but has ducked questions about whether his wife will appear with him at campaign events.
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When former representative Anthony Weiner admitted Tuesday that he had continued to send salacious texts to women he had not met, even after his behavior had forced him to resign from Congress in 2011, Abedin stood with him and continued the public role she has taken in his comeback attempt.
"It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony,'' she said. "I made a decision that it was worth staying in this marriage.''
Admittedly nervous and sometimes near tears, Abedin drew sympathy even though a distraught wife has become a fairly frequent sight in politics.
The Wall Street Journal editorialized Wednesday that Weiner should drop out of the race "simply because of what he's forced his wife to endure. Watching the elegant Huma Abedin stand next to her man Tuesday as he explained his latest sexually charged online exchanges was painful for a normal human being to watch.''
STORY: Weiner rejects calls to quit race
SEXTING: How typical is Anthony Weiner's behavior?
OUR VIEW: Weiner danger
"I have seen a lot of things like this in politics, where males have to lean on their wives for support, but I don't ever recall seeing a wife looking and feeling so sad and embarrassed," Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Wednesday on MSNBC. "Putting her into this political situation, as bright, as intelligent as she is, is very awkward. And my feelings were all for her in terms of what she felt she had to do for her husband. It's a really sad day."
While Abedin was more explicit, and more blunt, her comments echoed those of Clinton from a 1992 appearance on 60 Minutes, when then-candidate Bill Clinton was facing down allegations of an affair with Gennifer Flowers. Then, Clinton said she had chosen to stay married despite all-but-acknowledged infidelity. "I'm not sitting here, some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette,'' Clinton said. "I'm sitting here because I love him and I respect him and I honor what he's been through and what we've been through together.''
Abedin, like Clinton in 1992, pleaded for privacy. "I do very strongly believe that this is between us, in our marriage,'' she told the packed news conference.
Abedin, who turns 37 on Sunday, has been married to Weiner for three years; their wedding was performed by former president Clinton. They now have an 19-month-old son. But since 1996, Abedin has been one of Clinton's closest aides, working with her as first lady, New York senator, 2008 presidential candidate, Secretary of State and now, private citizen. Clinton has said Abedin is like a daughter to her.
It's common for candidates to hope voters will take a wife's word that a husband is worth electing: Michelle Obama and Ann Romney have performed that role. When a candidate gets into trouble, it's vital. "when the wife sticks by you and looks like she means it, it helps,'' says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at the University of Southern California. That was the case in 2007, when Louisiana Sen. David Vitter admitted hiring prostitutes. His wife Wendy spoke at his mea culpa news conference. "I forgave David,'' she said. "I made the decision to love him and to recommit to our marriage. To forgive is not always the easy choice but it was and is the right choice for me.'' Vitter was re-elected in 2010.
Abedin has been visible since Weiner began to orchestrate his comeback: "a critical validator,'' says Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. She has participated in lengthy interviews, she appeared in his campaign launch video, and she has been out on the trail with him. She wrote a first-person essay to be published in the September Harper's Bazaar that could double as a campaign ad for the Sept. 10 mayoral primary: "Anthony has always been a smart, caring, and dedicated person, and while he's the same public servant who wants what's best for the people he represents, he is now something else — a better man,'' she writes.
Abedin has enjoyed far more positive press than Hillary Clinton did in the 1990s. A New York magazine article last week included so much gushing that The New Republic felt compelled to excerpt "The Four Silliest/Creepiest Huma Abedin Descriptions'' in the story, including "her brown eyes were pools of empathy evolved through a thousand generations of what was good and decent in the history of the human race."
Her support of her husband stands in contrast to the other scandal-tinged New York race: former governor Eliot Spitzer is campaigning to become the city's comptroller without visible appearances by his wife, Silda Wall. She appeared, grim-faced but silent, at his 2008 news conference when he resigned after a prostitution scandal. Spitzer says the couple is not separated, but has ducked questions about whether his wife will appear with him at campaign events.
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