Weiner's acts aren't just irresponsible - they're depraved

Kerry Dougherty is a rare bird, she's the token moderate/conservative on the Virginian Pilot staff.

She plays the role of Bill Buckley (when he was alive) on PBS to "prove" that Public Broadcasting was not socialist propaganda. But I digress.

In all of the sturm and drang about Weiner's wiener in its various states of tumescence, few have really given voice to what should be the natural reaction to what Anthony Weiner has done. Kerry has.

Euphemisms. They can soften life's ugly little wrinkles.

We've had a perfect example of the power of the euphemism this week as members of the media struggled to describe Rep. Anthony Weiner's recent online activities.

Memo to my colleagues: You were way too kind.

Characterizing these Internet communications as "inappropriate" or "flirtatious" misses the mark.

When a married man sends an "inappropriate message" to a woman who's not his wife, it looks something like this:

You're cute. Put on something sexy and meet me for cocktails. Whatever you do, don't tell my wife.

But when a 46-year-old politician sends pictures of his crotch to women he's never met, that's not just inappropriate. It's also - dare we say it - perverted.

Sending a picture of your hard-on to relative strangers is not "inappropriate" it's the textbook definition of a pervert, if the culture of relativity still allows us to make value judgements of people who - in a different venue - pop out of alleyways in trench coats to flash a passing stranger.

We are all sinful creatures and have "fallen" from grace, but come on, is there no longer a line which, when it's crossed, invites universal condemnation?    Based on the reaction of many on the Left, the answer is no.

Look, thanks to philanderers in both parties, infidelity is no longer a deal breaker for many voters. Neither is lying. We're getting used to it. We hold our noses and vote for these odious men, telling ourselves that their disgusting behavior doesn't mean they can't be good public servants. That's nonsense, of course. Any man who would cruelly humiliate his wife is not worthy of our trust...

But back to the man of the hour, Anthony Weiner. His admission Monday that he is the sort of freak who takes pictures of his privates and sends them to strangers has led to a vast national parlor game. From coast to coast, folks are arguing about whether it's cheating if a man doesn't actually have a physical relationship with a woman. Others are debating who's worse, Weiner or John Edwards or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Geez, who cares?

Weiner isn't just a cheating spouse. He's an exhibitionist. An Internet flasher. A public person who wants women to admire his private parts.

Amen.  Thus endeth the sermon.