FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Politicians never learn. They think if they deny something or change the subject when asked about it, that's the end of it. It will just go away.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/06/01/art.anthony.weiner.jpg caption="Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)"]
Well, guess what? It never does. And watching them squirm as that truth dawns on them is priceless.
The latest example: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, whose Twitter account sent out a lewd picture of a man in his underwear.
This episode was quickly dubbed "Weinergate."
You can't make this stuff up.
The Congressman, Weiner, is insisting his Twitter account was hacked and someone else sent the photo. That's the same excuse former Congressman Christopher Lee, the Republican from New York, tried in February when he was caught sending a suggestive picture of himself to a woman he was hoping to meet on Craig's List. He resigned.
Weinergate would have disappeared if the congressman had answered the question, "Did you send that photograph or not?" Instead Weiner called a CNN producer a "jackass" and carried on like some spoiled 9-year-old. It wasn't the CNN producer who came across as the jackass.
Dodging questions and denying allegations is nothing new. President Bill Clinton said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." Wrong answer. President Richard Nixon said, "I am not a crook." He was.
And look at the mess John Edwards is in... Facing a possible long prison stretch over allegations he stole campaign funds to support his mistress.
The list of these egotistical so-called public servants is much longer than we have time for here.
Here’s my question to you: Why do politicians think denying an allegation or changing the subject means it will go away?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Paul in Seattle:
Because they're so often right. Deny, change the subject and tap dance until the next Big Story hits. That's the game. Politicos like Anthony Wiener - whether rightly or wrongly accused–know that in this hot 2011 news year they'll be bumped off "Page One" in about a day and a half.
Kim:
They think an allegation will go away, because it usually does. In these days of "saturation" news broadcasting, the race to put everything on the air guarantees that our attention span will not be a factor. On top of that, we now expect politicians to be totally unethical at some point in their careers.
Ken in North Carolina:
That’s the way all used car salesmen are trained. They believe it because usually in the end, they watch you drive off in your brand new used clunker, praying that it will make it off the lot.
Paul:
Denying an allegation is within anyone's right. It’s not up to anyone to prove their innocence. Nobody can control the media's desire to pursue any story they feel may garner viewership, no matter if it’s trivial or not. The media sets their own agendas and will follow any scent of guilt, which can be a good thing if the subject matter is important which is not always the case.
Dave in Nashville:
There’s nothing more frustrating than how politicians spin words in lieu of answering the question, and there are only two reasons why: They can't answer truthfully and/or they love to hear themselves talk. Take Anthony Weiner, he must think he's a rock star to imagine giving a speech to 45,000 people as his answer to whether he tweeted his tweeter to the college kid. And voters keep re-electing them - unreal.
Sean:
The same reason they don't try to do anything productive. They know attention spans are real small. We're far to busy worrying about Pippa and the Kardashians to be bothered.