Done biting my tongue

kw: public service, morality

A friend from Georgia told me of a politician there who, it was found, had hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed inside a mattress in his home. There was shortly a recall election, and he was run out of office. My friend explained, "We sort of expect public officials to be corrupt, but we won't tolerate rank stupidity."

I have refrained from commenting on the idiocy of New York Representative Anthony Weiner, but a few things must be said. I sort of expect congresspersons to be philanderers; it is well known that many of them are. Probably most are. But Weiner's behavior is rank stupidity, even dumber than filling a mattress with cash. There have to be dozens of ways of communicating with targets of one's seductive wiles that are more secure! If this fool can't keep personal secrets—mainly because he can't pick discreet partners—just how safe are the nation's secrets with him?