Weinergate The Musical: How NOT to Respond to a Sex Scandal

He resigned. Finally. After nearly three weeks of the Anthony Weiner crash and burn tour, in which he broke every rule of good crisis communications, the Congressman from New York is leaving office, and the news cycle, too. His bizarre odyssey will be a new chapter in crisis communications textbooks on how NOT to respond, according to PR specialist Ashley McCown. Before he fades from view, here is a musical review of the latest and perhaps most bizarre implosion of a politician.

I Heard it Through the Grapevine

And Twitter and Facebook … Let’s start with how social media works. Did Congressman Weiner really not understand that by posting his pictures on Twitter and Facebook he was not exactly having a private conversation? Hubris trumps ignorance I guess, but his sexting does fall into the category of “did you really think you could get away with it?” Every sex scandal is incredible in its own way, but the public nature of this one takes the cake.

Yesterday

“All my troubles seemed so far away, now I know that they are here to stay …” A cardinal rule in crisis communications is when you get caught, come clean. Don’t lie or cover-up. Acknowledge what you did, accept responsibility and apologize. Perhaps Weiner missed that session in his Congressional orientation. Incredibly, when the story broke on June 1, he claimed in an interview that his Twitter account had been hacked and said, “I can’t say with certainty very much about where the photograph came from.” It was great theater and the networks played that interview over and over again. #weinergate was born. His answers were so ludicrous and the details so ripe for the picking (and joking) given his name that Twitter exploded with a litany of angry, lewd and hysterical tweets. #weiner and #weinergate trended high for days. There was no escaping it.

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Apparently, the Congressman didn’t want to escape the notoriety. He has been described as a publicity seeker. It seems that applies even when he is at the center of a sex scandal. How else do you explain sticking to that ridiculous story for five days. He led or was near the top of the news cycle all day, every day. The woman he sexted was interviewed and he still didn’t come clean- until June 6 when he finally told the truth. He could have chosen to admit the truth when the story first broke in a single interview or series of one-on-one interviews. He would have defined what happened on his own terms and that would have been the clip that got played over and over again. Instead, he stood on a stage in front of hundreds of reporters and cameras, under hot lights, perspiring as he admitted to it all. All publicity is not good publicity, Congressman.

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

But something was missing: his resignation. Apparently the Congressman thought it was enough to apologize, pledge to seek treatment, and then he could hold on to his job. Not so. He spent the next 10 days being hounded by the media everywhere he went. His Democratic colleagues kept hoping he would do the right thing. When they could keep silent no more, some began calling for him to step down.

Stand by Your Man

Kudos to Huma Abedin. She has responded to her husband’s embarrassing transgressions with dignity and silence. Unlike so many other aggrieved wives of politicians, she was not standing by his side on June 6 when he confessed or when he resigned on June 16. Good for her.

Walk this Way

I certainly won’t hold up Eliot Spitzer as the poster boy for good behavior, but from a crisis communications standpoint, he did the right thing. Spitzer resigned 48 hours after the New York Times broke the story about his involvement with prostitutes, and he left public life to focus on his family. Two years later, CNN gave him a show on which he has commented on Weinergate.

I Will Survive

If Congressman Weiner can stay out of the limelight for a while, he too can stage a comeback. In his resignation speech (complete with a heckler calling him a pervert), he said, “I got into politics to help give voice to the many who simply did not have one.” Here’s hoping the next time Mr. Weiner finds himself in the press it’s because he did just that.

With apologies to Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Tammy Wynette, Aerosmith and Gloria Gaynor.