Mayor Weiner Would Be the Gift That Never Stops Giving

Rep. Anthony Weiner kicked off his first visit in what he called “the post-Charles era” by congratulating Connell McShane on his new gig. Sort of.
 
“I’m not sure hooking your star to the wagon of a 200-year old man is a great career move,” the Democrat from New York said. “But we all gotta do what we gotta do.”
 
And what Weiner had to do this morning was make fun of all things Fox-related, including the New York Post and the channel on which he was currently appearing, and which he presumed a few hundred “shut-ins” were watching. Imus swiftly corrected his distinguished guest by noting that around ten million people were also listening on the radio, “all of whom hate you.”
 
As tensions flared between Imus and Weiner, talk of problems the Middle East seemed like child’s play. The Congressman told Imus that in his speech on the region today, President Obama should say that any peace deal negotiated by Israel and the Palestinians needs to be negotiated by Israel and the Palestinians, and not a third party.
 
“Having the United Nations try to declare something unilaterally is not going to work,” Weiner said. “But I also think what he should say is that these duplicitous Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, that are treating their people terribly, exporting terrorism—they have to stop. And we shouldn’t act like we’re their friends.”
 
Also, Weiner hopes Obama says that the U.S. will not give “a dime or dollar” in aid to the Palestinians while Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, is running their government. “This is a moment for the world, this Arab Spring,” Weiner said. “It provides opportunities, but primarily for the people of the Middle East to kind of change the way they view their governments.”
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Obama tomorrow, and Weiner noted the visiting politician’s precarious position. “What would you say if you had a situation where you had a terrorist state on your north border, and on your south border?” he said of Israel. “He’s basically under siege, and he represents a true ally of the United States.”
 
To Imus’s observation, “We’ve been talking about this forever, this Middle East peace solution,” Weiner replied, “We have by the standards of the U.S. and the West, but by the standards of the Middle East, there are people there that have been fighting and waging wars for thousands of years.”
 
Weiner is hopeful that the tendency of others in the region to blame Israel for their problems will change, and he is confident Obama possesses the leadership to steer others accordingly. Asked why the sudden pivot on our President, whom Weiner was primed to abandon a few weeks ago, Weiner said, “He killed Bin Laden! I’m on his team big time.”
 
If the Congressman is lucky, Imus will join his team in 2013, when he will probably run for Mayor of New York City, a role he deemed “the only job better than the one I have.” Better than the U.S. Senate? “Do they issue a walker and an oxygen tank when you get there?”
 
Backtracking slightly, Weiner praised his hometown Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as “a one-two punch for freedom and democracy in our country, and fighters for New York.”
 
Speaking of New York, Imus was roundly accused (well, accused by Bernard and Lou) of being an Upper West Side elitist because he didn’t find the foul language in the Broadway show “Book of Mormon” insulting.
 
Turning to Connell, Weiner, a longtime fan of the I-Man’s said, “I think in the rhythm of the show, this is where you’re supposed to defend him.”
 
Without missing a beat, Connell shot back. “I’m not there yet.”
 
-Julie Kanfer