June 7, 2011

Where's Huma Abedin? What should she do?

The Daily News headlines: "Huma Abedin is notably absent from husband Anthony Weiner's tearful sexting confession."
Huma Abedin wasn't standing by her man....

A top aide to Secretary of State Clinton, Abedin issued no statements of support for her embattled husband. She was a no-show Monday at two public State Department events.

"I love my wife very much, and we have no intention of splitting up over this," Weiner insisted. "I love her very much, and she loves me."
No intention of splitting up over this. Those last 2 words jumped out at me.
Several political pros cheered her absence yesterday.

"In general, it's very difficult for women constituents to look at the grieving wife up there," said Democratic consultant George Arzt. "It's bad PR."

The better move for Weiner, Arzt said, was "to look like he can take it all by himself and stand up there."

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato took to Twitter with a similar view: "At least Weiner didn't make his wife come out and gaze lovingly at him."
Ha ha. He's a PR expert! He's not advising Weiner in advance. He's dealing with the facts he's stuck with. This is what the PR man says when the wife isn't there. What did the Democratic consultants say when Silda Spitzer stood by her man?

The New York Post headlines: "Weiner & wife worlds apart/:Snake slithers when Huma is globetrotting with Hill."
As the "body woman" to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Huma Abedin is tasked with accompanying the former first lady on diplomatic globetrotting missions.

Weiner, it seems, uses the timing of her foreign affairs to pursue domestic ones online.

For instance, last month, while Abedin and Clinton were in Rome meeting with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Weiner was chatting up Texas nursing student Meagan Broussard.
I wonder what conversations Huma is having with Hillary — the world's most famous stander by of her man.
The political power couple met while Abedin was on the campaign trail during Clinton's 2008 White House bid. By 2009, they were engaged....
Didn't Abedin know the kind of man she was marrying? He was 45, and had never married previously. As Hillary's close assistant, she had to be sophisticated about the ways of oversexed, extroverted, narcissistic husbands. What was the marriage supposed to be, anyway? They were conspicuously a glamorous "power couple," for public purposes, but what was he allowed to do in private? What were their understandings? At the press conference yesterday, Weiner said that she asked how he could be so dumb, which made me think what mattered most was that people found out and she was shamed and embarrassed. Was it the public image that mattered, or was it to be a loyal, deeply bonded marriage in private?

Unlike Bill and Hillary, Weiner and Abedin have only been married a year, and they have no children. And the husband's career is deeply compromised at this point. They're not going to become the Democratic Party's next Bill and Hillary. The glamorous power couple is defunct. What happens to the private Tony and Huma?

Will Abedin divorce Weiner?
Yes.
No, she'll stand by her man.
Divorce? She should be able to get an annulment!

  
pollcode.com free polls

67 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

Althouse, you seem to be assuming some sort of moral fiber in Abedin that is absent in her husband.

I doubt this is the case.

He's an attack dog with a vicious streak. She's undoubtedly the same.

They're together for a reason.

Joaquin said...

"It's bad PR."
Does that not say it all?
These are Liberal political animals first and foremost. Everything else are mere distractions.

AllenS said...

They'll both act like nothing happened. Then, eventually the MSM will come to their assistance. What will be interesting to watch is what Pelosi will be doing about this problem. I think that Pelosi will eventually look into it, and then announce that all is good. "Let's move on, we have the people's money to spend. Now is not the time for these disruptions."

Shouting Thomas said...

What should she do?

Another eternal feminist question that grew out of the junior high school clique mentally that nurtured it.

Abedin should decide what she wants to do on her own?

Your assumption that she's facing some kind of personal or marital crisis may just be bullshit.

She may love the guy precisely because he's a aggressive cockfighting jackass. She is probably just as much of a power crazed, money grubbing piece of shit as her husband.

The Clintons are a pretty well matched set of noxious bastards. I suspect the Weiners are, too.

gerry said...

As Hillary's close assistant, she had to be sophisticated about the ways of oversexed, extroverted, narcissistic husbands. What was the marriage supposed to be, anyway?

She was in it for the same reasons that motivate Hillary. She can't get anywhere power-wise on her own, so she latches onto a future New Yawk mayor. She'll stand by her man since he did not resign.

The Dude said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
marylynn said...

I suspect she is as twisted as he is .... morally and ethically bankrupt, just like their mentors the Clintons

Curious George said...

Looking at this from a husband-wife perspective is laughable.

What should she do? Hang on to the marriage for the amount of time required to keep the theory that this was a marriage alive "we tried to work it out, but in the end couldn't". The dump his ass and look at the next available opportunity...which I predict won't come.

AllenS said...

A fairy book ending to this would be two divorces. Bill and Hillary divorcing, Anthony and Huma calling their marriage over. Then, Huma and Hillary get married and live happily ever after.

gerry said...

AlanS: Then, Huma and Hillary get married and live happily ever after.

Naw.

Take it from someone with a lot of canine experience: getting bitches to live together peacefully requires surgical intervention.

WV: taboa Almost taboo!

AllenS said...

fairy book?

How about a fairy tale book ending. Does that sound better?

AllenS said...

surgical intervention

Sure. One of them could have something surgically attached. However, it would be cheaper with just a strap-on.

Anonymous said...

Cheaters gonna cheat. That's what they do.

And flashers are going to flash. They can't help themselves.

Flashy Tony digs this kind of thing. Showing it is what gets his dick hard. "I'm taking pictures of it right now and it's getting harder," he wrote to one of his victims. He was doing this not with one girl, but with 6 girls at a time.

He's a textbook exhibitionist. You don't end that kind of sexual mental illness cold turkey just because you've been outed.

Tony's proud of it and he wants to show it off to as many young girls as he can. And he's going to show it. And nobody the likes of Andrew Breitbart is going to make him put it away.

Don't you know who he is?

exhelodrvr1 said...

I guess the penis is mightier than his word.

Shouting Thomas said...

He's a textbook exhibitionist. You don't end that kind of sexual mental illness cold turkey just because you've been outed.

Now, you're getting a little excited.

What Weiner did was virtually harmless. There is no sexual mental illness in enjoying a little flashing, so long as the recipients don't object.

The problem here is abuse of office and lying. Nothing more.

If enjoying a little flashing is a sexual mental illness, then 90% of humans are bonkers. Have you looked around the internet lately?

Let's not get carried away with our own virtue here.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

And over in the reality based community:

If Huma stands by her man? Democrat spokesman: "That's good PR. Shows she's committed to him."

Since Huma didn't stand by her man? Democrat spokesman: "You don't want the fawning wife made to stand there. That's bad PR."

Anonymous said...

The presumption is that if they are in or near Washington DC power they are sewer scum, unless proven otherwise with a preponderance of the evidence.

And that goes for Huma too.

traditionalguy said...

She could try to think of England and lay back until he finishes. He wont spend much time on her anymore, because he no longer in control of her perception of him. He needs fresh meat to do his act upon. Weiner is the classical Toxic Narcissist. The category "Narcissist" has been much debased by using the term to describe everyday selfish people. But that term means a truly evil mental illness that acts out in very intelligent and gifted men. Breitbart and the CBS interviewer were both on the receiving end of a Toxic Narcissist's attempt at perception control. It is not pretty, and one's only hope is to stand up to him until he goes away seeking fresh meat to work his skill upon.

Fred4Pres said...

I feel sorry for her without even knowing anything about her. She is a waifish woman with an exotic look rumored to be Hillary's lover. Is that even true? Is Anthony Weiner a beard or really someone she loved and married?

I will assume this, she is not happy with her husband's behavior.

Anonymous said...

He is a classic exhibitionist, according to the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders.

The reason that he does it online is because he's imagining they're underage girls incapable of consent. That's the beauty of the internet. On the internet, nobody knows you're a 12-year-old girl. Just ask Chris Hanson, who should probably start following Flashy Tony Weiner around.

But you're right. He's not going to get help so the best thing we can do is make sure he stops using our tax dollars for his sexual gratification.

Weiner has been abusing his Congressional telephone and office for his twisted little masturbation sessions. And it's high time the House of Representatives put a stop to the humiliating degradation that Weiner is heaping onto other House members.

They need to expel him.

Shouting Thomas said...

You're all getting a little hysterical as you vie to find ever more disgusting characterizations for Weiner's behavior.

Had he used his personal phone and kept this stuff out of his office, Weiner would have been well within his rights to flash his stuff all over the internet.

It's up to his constituents to judge whether they want somebody who does this to represent them.

The sexual behavior of this congressman is very tame... at least the behavior we know about.

Get off your high horses and pay attention to the real issues... abuse of office and lying.

The Crack Emcee said...

Oh, so NOW we're discussing the wife? How quaint. Fuck that bitch!

Hey, Ann, you wanna see something HUGE?

The Drill SGT said...

As the "body woman"

O'bama has a "body man". What's with these liberals needing servile minority servants around.

I'm not being sarcastic. Imagine the crap a GOP President would have?

Why can't these people have the prestige of being called "Personal Assistant" or "Aide de Camp"?

Anonymous said...

"Breitbart and the CBS interviewer were both on the receiving end of a Toxic Narcissist's attempt at perception control. It is not pretty, and one's only hope is to stand up to him until he goes away seeking fresh meat to work his skill upon."

And just look at this performance that he gave to ABC News's Jonathan Karl. It is stunning how good of a liar Anthony Weiner is. And the reason he's such a good liar is that he actually believes the lies he's saying. He's not just lying to the reporter. He's lecturing the reporter about the reporter's impropriety in asking simple questions.

It's the kind of performance that only a mentally ill person can execute. You're exactly right. He's shows signs of classic Narcissism personality disorder combined with the mental illness known as Exhibitionism.

He should be committed and treated for his illnesses. We have to stop shunning these people and get them some help. Didn't we pass a law requiring him to get insurance? He should be involuntarily committed so he can get the professional psychiatric help he needs.

Someone call Bellvue.

Anonymous said...

"Obama has a 'body man'. What's with these liberals needing servile minority servants around."

You haven't really made it as a Democrat Klux Klanner until you have your own house negro fetching your coffee.

It's tradition.

Started by Grand Kleagle Robert E. Lee Byrd.

Anonymous said...

The sexual behavior of this congressman is very tame... at least the behavior we know about.

Shouting Thomas, this guy was potentially - just possibly - exchanging sexual pictures with minors.

I've stood in federal court next to a 22 year old young man facing 40 years in prison for not much more than that.

But must more importantly, you deny reality when you think that the same corrupt soul in matters of sex, and the same lying and brazenly selfish soul that would do this to a wife is capable of being other when he supposedly "works for the people."

A tiger can't change his stripes.

Mary Beth said...

Were these six women serial or all at the same time? Did they know about each other or did they each think that they were the only one with a special online relationship with Weiner?

Scott M said...

"In general, it's very difficult for women constituents to look at the grieving wife up there," said Democratic consultant George Arzt. "It's bad PR."

So, in other words, they got exactly one thing right in this entire debacle, an episode which will be studied as how NOT to handle PR surrounding a scandal? Now that's an average that instills confidence in our "leaders".

I popped over to Sirius Left this morning to listen how they were addressing the fallout. Of the three hosts (two men, one woman), there was unanimous condemnation and revilement. Not at the actual act, but the fact that he lied. And didn't just lie, but aggressively and arrogantly defended himself, going so far as to paint himself as a victim. The callers, on the other hand...complete apologists. "Well, wouldn't you do the same to avoid embarrassing your family?" etc etc. To which the hosts vehemently reacted NO.

Well, they got that right, even on Left.

Anonymous said...

Where's GarageBanal to tell us how "intelligent" and "social media saavy" Flashy Tony is.

I need a good laugh this morning.

Scott M said...

Oh...and what's Huma worried about Anthony for anyway? Ten bucks says he doesn't look the way she likes a person in a pants suit to look (nudge, nudge...wink, wink)

Almost Ali said...

She's exotic, Muslim, and her name is A-bed-in.

And smart enough to charm Hillary into a false sense of national security.

So who better to inform the House of Saud than her sexting husband, Mr Compromised Weiner.

Anonymous said...

"Did they know about each other or did they each think that they were the only one with a special online relationship with Weiner?"

At least one of them told FoxNews Sean Hannity in a live interview that while she didn't KNOW there were others, she suspected it.

Megan Broussard, a 26-year-old single mother, told Hannity: "I just thought at the time that ... there's way more girls out there. This is not just me."

The complete interview that will air on Hannity's 9 p.m. ET show tonight.

Megan Broussard: "Like, this is something that's regular, he's done all the time. He's comfortable."

Anonymous said...

"Were these six women serial or all at the same time?"

He didn't really characterize it other than to say there have been "about" six women over the last three years, some before his marriage some afterwards.

He didn't say if some of them were serial.

He'll do it again, so maybe we can ask him at the next press conference if he's into circle jerks.

Scott M said...

I guess the penis is mightier than his word.

Ah...I see what you did there.

Shouting Thomas said...

Shouting Thomas, this guy was potentially - just possibly - exchanging sexual pictures with minors.

You could say this about every flashing site on the web, from YouPorn to Guess Her Muff.

The pictures are up there and accessible to a minor just by click a button.

You want to put everybody associated with these thousands of sites in jail because a minor could potential access them?

tree hugging sister said...

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato took to Twitter with a similar view: "At least Weiner didn't make his wife come out and gaze lovingly at him."

As I Twittered back at him, "And WHAT makes you suppose he didn't try/BEG like HELL to get her to do it?"

richard mcenroe said...

Huma was home practicing her free penalty kick. The next time we see a picture of Weiner's junk, she's gonna have bent it like Beckham.

Scott M said...

You want to put everybody associated with these thousands of sites in jail because a minor could potential access them?

So, you don't make the distinction between putting up a website for general use, forcing the user to claim they are of age, versus someone sending explicit material to one user in particular, with the intent of reaching that one user?

'splain, please.

test said...

"He's an attack dog with a vicious streak. She's undoubtedly the same.

They're together for a reason.

6/7/11 7:07 AM"

Even if you believe this, he's just destroyed that reason.

I don't see them together. If it's love she's unbelievably hurt. If it's a political partnership his ability to contribute is over. If he's just her maskara he's brought sufficient notoriety it negates any value.

I agee the stupid comment is odd, but that might have been a single moment focusing dispassionately among other emotional recriminations.

Will Cate said...

Then, Huma and Hillary get married and live happily ever after.

More true than you might think, AllenS. In the run-up to the 2008 election, it was rumored that Huma and Hillary were lovers.

Fen said...

If enjoying a little flashing is a sexual mental illness, then 90% of humans are bonkers

No. Its fine to get off on something like exibitionism. But in excess, when it becomes a self-destructive drive that destroys the pillars of your life, its become a mental illness.

Look at the Seven Deadly Sins. Most are normal human appetites taken to excess.



C. S. Lewis:
"The biological purpose of sex is children, just as the biological pupose of eating is to repair the body. Now if we eat whenever we feel inclined and just as much as we want, it is quite true most of us will eat too much; but not terifically too much. One man may eat enough for two, but he does not eat enough for ten. The appetite goes a little beyond its biological purpose, but not enormously. But if a healthy young man indulged his sexual appetite whenever he felt inclined, and if each act produced a baby, then in ten years he might easily populate a small village. This appetite is in ludicrous and perposterous excess of its function.

Or take it another way. You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act – that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you come to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let everyone see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food?"

John henry said...

Why do all the press insist on saying that Huma is a "top aide" to Hilary?

Huma is a State Dept employee. Her official job title is "Senior Policy Adviser" In that capacity she is basically still Hilary's flunky but with a greatly increased paycheck.

What are her qualifications to be a Senior Policy Adviser one might ask? About the same as Hilary's qualifications to be Secretary of State. Slim to none.

But her Saudi background and ongoing connections as well as unexplained money should be worrisome to all.

Perhaps calling her a "top aide" is another way of hiding this.

John Henry

george said...

I really don't care if Weiner strode the halls of the Capitol fully nude. We would survive that. What we won't survive is $100 trillion in unfunded mandates and printing presses that run night and day. Those are the reasons that Obama and the rest of the narcissistic left have to be ousted.

The people who run in these circles are all thieves of the lowest moral character. Otherwise they would have decent jobs and be with decent people instead of being professional grifters/politicians. You don't work for Hillary, marry Weiner and have Slick Willie preside at your wedding for Christ's sake if you aren't in on the scam and part of the tribe.

Besides, if Huma is a practicing Muslim then I don't believe her husband's behavior is any of her business at all. That would be something she is neither qualified nor allowed to express an opinion about. If the happy couple were in a Muslim country she would be sharing her home with Weiner's harem instead of just her twitter feed.

carrie said...

I believe she knew what she was getting into when she married him so she'll only divorce him if it compromises her goal in marrying him in the first place. Personally, I suspect she only got married so that she could wear an Oscar de la Renta wedding dress and get her picture in Vogue.

Titus said...

Huma is being comforted by Hillary right now.

Hillary told her to put her head on her shoulder. She then whipped out a tit and started feeding Huma.

Huma is now safe in the arms of Hillary and back on familiar territory by getting nourishment from Hil's tit.

Robert said...

I believe Tony is taking a dive for Bill, Hillary and Huma. There has to be a lot more there than what we see.

Occum proven right again.

The Dude said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
roesch-voltaire said...

Actually I think Althouse has it right when she writes: oversexed, extroverted, narcissistic husbands. A friend of mine was married to a sex addict, and at first said she was flattered by sex four times a day, but as time went on she begin to realize the extent of his addiction, something he hid in the beginning, and realized there was no way she could ever satisfy him. So I am not ready to blame Huma Abedin in this case. But I do blame Weiner for lying, and for reckless abuse of his power and status.

edutcher said...

As several have noted, this is the same type of marriage the Hildabeast (and Elizabeth Edwards) made.

The difference here is that, not only are the Republicans and Conservatives having the time of their lives watching the Weiner twist in the wind, the Demos want to get as far away from him as they can, knowing how much of a millstone he's going to be going forward.

Huma is going to dump him ASAP, because she can ride the Wounded Spouse thing the way Hilla did.

And Titus is probably right.

AllenS said...

roeschie,

Twitter isn't sex. Not even if you Twitter 12 times a day. Get it? He wasn't having sex.

Scott M said...

So I am not ready to blame Huma Abedin in this case. But I do blame Weiner for lying, and for reckless abuse of his power and status.

Why blame Huma at all? The fault lies entirely at Weiner's feet. If you wanted to slam Huma for anything, the most you could possibly do is admonish her for not getting to know Weiner better before agreeing to marry him. This, of course, bolsters the "marriage of convenience" theory, but, regardless, it's the most Huma has to answer for.

Weiner, on the other hand, is a lying, despicable caricature of a man. As with Clinton before him, the acts he committed are small potatoes up against the fervent, over-the-top, and extremely well-documented lying.

How someone can betray the public trust this wantonly and still hold his office is surely a sign that we're fiddling while the city burns down around us. There's simply no excuse for the Republic keeping such a brazen flaunting of trust in government service.

More than anything else, if he stays in office, it's an indictment of the entire system and the rot that's set in. If this is case, doesn't it beg the question, "Is it too far gone to throw in the washer on hot with bleach?"

William said...

Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West had a successful marriage. What was striking was not the many layers of perversity and infidelity, but the genuine affection that existed between them.....Different marriages have different dynamics, different rules. Perhaps they are faithful to each other in their fashion.

William said...

Some marriages are defined by gravity. For others it's a matter of quantum physics.

Fred4Pres said...

You know that scene in an Officer and a Gentleman where the skank blond dumps the sincere but stupid midshipman who opts out the Naval Aviator program?

Well switch it around to a career minded Capital Hill assistant to Hillary Clinton and an insinere stupid lying Congressman who self destructs his career and embarasses his wife.

But the result is about the same.

dbp said...

In her professional life Huma Abedin is someone who is good at putting her boss first. She is the personal assistant to HRC and that she has lasted so long at it means she is good at it.

Having only been married for a year, she might not be quite as loyal to AW yet, but I suspect she will stand by her man.

Revenant said...

"Huma Abedin" sounds like a word jumble you have to unscramble to find the wife's actual name.

JackWayne said...

Why don't you allow us to vote for a late-term bris on Weiner?

The Dude said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SunnyJ said...

The music plays and they dance...it's no accident that people are attracted to each other. Huma is Hilary's right hand..they are cut from the same cloth. This is in your face political ambition. Only way she leaves him, is if he can't resurect himself. She knows his best chance at that is for her to stay quiet and be supportive. Hilary is in her ear every day.

george said...

Scott M answers his own question when he says, "Weiner, on the other hand, is a lying, despicable caricature of a man".

Huma, is to blame because none of this was a secret going in and she had been around political types long enough to know what they are like. Her mentor is Hillary Clinton --- the poster child for rising above where you abilities can take you through making a marriage of convenience.

But besides all of that, Weiner's politics were of a sort that should obviously make him unfit for marriage. When the country has $80 trillion in unfunded mandates and deficits you don't get to run around calling for more spending as the answer. If someone has that much of an addiction to power and that little self-control then it is going to come out in a lot of other areas.

Socialists are to a man nasty pieces of work because by definition they are all thieves.

Scott M said...

Socialists are to a man nasty pieces of work because by definition they are all thieves

I think the politically correct term is coercers of justice.

Anonymous said...

'Blogger Fred4Pres said...

You know that scene in an Officer and a Gentleman where the skank blond dumps the sincere but stupid midshipman who opts out the Naval Aviator program?...'

Great analogy but only if he doesn't run again for office or get reelected.

Kirk Parker said...

Sixty,

"What are Huma's connections to Iran, Saudi Arabia..."

Well for her own health and longevity, it had better be one or the other, not both.

Methadras said...

She's with Hillary, the real man in her relationship.

Methadras said...

roesch-voltaire said...

Actually I think Althouse has it right when she writes: oversexed, extroverted, narcissistic husbands. A friend of mine was married to a sex addict, and at first said she was flattered by sex four times a day, but as time went on she begin to realize the extent of his addiction, something he hid in the beginning, and realized there was no way she could ever satisfy him. So I am not ready to blame Huma Abedin in this case. But I do blame Weiner for lying, and for reckless abuse of his power and status.


Well, your friend is an idiot. If you know a man wants sex four times a day, then realizes she can't keep up, then she clearly hasn't had a frank discussion with him about it and let it go on. Was he lying to her, no because he clearly was telling and showing her, I need sex four times a day. Weiner could be an asexual, sexless eunich, but he's still a liar and a reckless abuser of power. See the difference?

SukieTawdry said...

They were a political power couple? Really?? She, a personal assistant, and he, an unaccomplished career pol having difficulty advancing beyond his current station? What kind of power did they have, seperately or jointly?