The Daily Banter Headline Grab (from Reuters):

A gunman killed six people and critically wounded three at a Sikh temple during Sunday services before police shot him dead in an attack that authorities are treating as an act of domestic terrorism.

Witnesses said the gunman opened fire when he entered the kitchen at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee at about 10:30 a.m. CDT (1530 GMT) as women prepared a Sunday meal, sending worshippers fleeing to escape the barrage.

The suspect was a bald, white man, approximately 40 years old, said Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Authorities did not release his identity.

Four people were shot dead inside the sprawling temple. Three, including the gunman, were killed outside.

The gunman ambushed and shot a police officer who was responding to a 911 call and helping a shooting victim, Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said. A second officer shot and killed the gunman.

Edwards said he had no identification for the shooter nor information on what kind of weapon or weapons he had. The victims’ identities and descriptions were not made public.

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What comes first: The public or Weiner's ego? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Ben Cohen: On most issues, I agree with former Congressman Anthony Weiner. His unashamed liberalism has always been refreshing and he was a force for good in a political system that rarely produces anything to write home about. But Weiner let himself and his side down with his indefensible personal behavior that not only wrecked his career, but revealed a darker motivation on his part that should make people wary of his intentions should he decided to get back into politics. And it has been reported that a frustrated Weiner is ‘seriously considering’ a mayoral run in NYC next year. From the NYPost:

The disgraced former congressman — who’s sitting on a $4.5 million campaign war chest — is mulling a bid for citywide office next year and “seriously considering” a mayoral run, multiple sources told The Post.

The cocky pol is also open to the post of public advocate as a backup plan, said sources, who described the Queens Democrat as “desperate” to get back into politics.

Weiner, 47, has even spoken to former staffers about going back to work for him, according to another source.

Weiner has every right to run for public office, and there are no legal reasons why he cannot throw his hat into the ring. But given his personal transgressions, voters should think twice before giving him access to power.

Generally speaking, I do not believe the personal lives of politicians is anyone’s business. I don’t care if the President, congressman, senator etc etc cheats on his or her spouse. I don’t care if they’ve taken drugs, go to strip clubs or engage in homosexual activity. It’s their business and as long as it doesn’t affect the job they are doing, it’s off limits as far as I am concerned.

But there is something unsettling about Anthony Weiner, profiled The New York Times as a demanding and volatile boss, who’s sex scandal pointed to some very worrying psychological traits that would, I believe, negatively affect his ability to serve the public interest. For the uninitiated, the married Congressman was caught sending pictures of his genitals to a 21 year old college women over Twitter (and while his wife was pregnant). When caught, Weiner denied he sent the photos until the overwhelming evidence forced him to admit to that and other illicit tweets and photos to other women over the years. Reading the transcript of his correspondence with these women is enlightening to say the least. What emerges is a picture of a serious narcissist concerned only with his public persona, power and attractiveness. Here’s an exchange with a woman he messaged for over a year on facebook with:

Anthony Weiner: hello lisa
Lisa: hi baby! sent you a message the other day, but i think it went on instant chat for some odd reasonA
Anthony Weiner: i missed it. sorry sweetie
Lisa: no prob…i was so psyched to see u on colbert! you were so funny
Anthony Weiner: you watch it naked?
Lisa: haha! of course! u need to let me know when your are going to be on tv! i keep missing you
Anthony Weiner: you don’t get my twitter feed?
<= feelings hurt
Lisa: i do! and I’m still waiting 4 ur barmitva pics! but I don’t get on twitter everyday, so i don’t always get to catch your hot face on all your shows
ah i ran the bar mitzvah pics btw
ooohhh..i can’t wait to see it! I will go there before bed! you are sooo awesome when you yell at those fox news f***s! that clip was awesome
Anthony Weiner: i’m glad you like

Politicians are a strange breed of creatures, many of whom are playing out their serious insecurities and psychological hangups in the public arena. To put yourself up for routine public flogging via the modern media requires a degree of narcissism bordering on the insane. There must be a certain element of self loathing involved too – a pleasure derived from public vitriol and humiliation that most normal people would find completely unthinkable. Most public figures manage to keep a lid on these personality traits, but politicians like John Edwards and Anthony Weiner are so insecure and egotistical that they insist on playing roulette with their personal lives on a daily basis.

I am not arguing that Weiner didn’t accomplish anything while in office – on the contrary, he is regarded as having been a good Congressman dedicated to his city and progressive politics. Weiner had great, great potential and could have been a major force for good in US politics. But what is clear is that Weiner is not in command of his own behavior – his complex makeup means he constantly requires attention and power (hence his desperation to get back into public office), and he will forever fly by the seat of his pants to ensure his appetite for excitement and danger is met. Bullying staff, sexting and sending photos of his genitalia to women he never met are all signs of a serious megalomaniac, and for that reason, he should probably stay away from public office in the future.

Former governor of New York Eliot Spitzer is a similar type of character who disgraced himself and his office with illicit sexual activities that were so brazen it was incredible he got away with it for so long. But Spitzer, to his credit, seems has come to terms with his own psychological irregularities and has carved out a new career for himself as a host on a news and opinion show on Current TV.

Weiner’s voice is an important one – he stands for progressive politics and is unafraid to challenge Republicans who for too long have bullied Democrats afraid of stating their beliefs. The political game seems to bring out the very best and worst of Anthony Weiner and it seems it is not a balancing act he can manage very well. I could be wrong of course, and Weiner may well have changed his ways. But I suspect that if he had, he wouldn’t really want to get back into politics and would be content following Spitzer’s lead and using his voice in other less dangerous careers.

I still respect Weiner and think he can do a lot of good. But just not in politics.

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John Edwards: Off the hook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From YahooNews:

The Justice Department announced Wednesday it will give up its criminal case against former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

In May, a deadlocked North Carolina federal jury found Edwards not guilty of one charge of accepting illegal campaign donations. The group couldn’t reach a decision on five other felony charges, including one alleging that Edwards knowingly used $1 million in secret campaign donations from wealthy donors to support his mistress. Edwards could have faced 30 years in prison if convicted.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer said in a statement that the Justice Department put forward its best case. ”The jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on five of the six counts of the indictment, however, and we respect their judgment. In the interest of justice, we have decided not to retry Mr. Edwards on those counts.”

The prosecution was short on proof that Edwards knew about the payments or that he knew that accepting them was illegal. “As noted by nearly every campaign finance lawyer who considered the matter, this was a lousy case,” Melanie Sloan, director of the campaign finance watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics told the Associated Press after the trial. “All the salacious details prosecutors offered up to prove that Edwards is, indeed, despicable, were not enough to persuade the jury to convict him.”

A copy of the dismissal order can be found here.

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John Edwards: Former Presidential candidate now a free man

Former Senator John Edwards’ affair and child out of wedlock derailed a political rise that put him on the Democrats’ 2004 White House ticket, but the one-time trial lawyer held his head high on Thursday after a North Carolina jury delivered his most personal victory yet.

Twelve jurors in the state Edwards represented in the U.S. Senate from 1999 to 2005 acquitted him on one count of accepting illegal campaign contributions given during his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination four years ago.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles declared a mistrial on five other counts because the jury was deadlocked about whether Edwards, 58, took money from two wealthy donors to keep voters from learning he was cheating on his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, with a campaign videographer.

The jury’s decision on the ninth day of deliberations capped a nearly six-week-long trial that included salacious testimony more befitting of a soap opera than a campaign for the country’s highest political office.

Jurors heard about tawdry affair details, furtive phone calls and secret donor checks written under the guise of buying furniture, as former campaign workers and supporters painted an unflattering portrait of Edwards.

The trial’s outcome marked yet another dramatic turn of events for the two-time presidential hopeful who beat a Republican incumbent senator in his first political race and became the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee just six years later.

As the jury’s verdict was read, Edwards, who did not testify during the trial and faced possible fines and prison time if convicted, slumped back in his seat in relief.

Later, standing in front of the federal courthouse in Greensboro, he maintained his innocence and choked up as he spoke of his affection for the 4-year-old daughter he fathered with then-mistress Rielle Hunter.

“While I do not believe I did anything illegal, or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins,” he said, flanked by his parents and 30-year-old daughter, Cate, who stood by him throughout the proceedings.

“I am responsible, and if I want to find the person who should be held accountable for my sins, honestly I don’t have to go any further than the mirror. It’s me. It is me and me alone.”

Read more at Reuters…

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On any given day in the fall of 2007, John Edwards could be heard preaching his populist prose to Iowa voters who eagerly packed into lumber barns, VFW halls and Culver restaurants across the state.

His message was less about the two Americas of his 2004 campaign — the haves and the have-nots — and more about fighting for the middle class and ending poverty in America.

The Democratic candidate had spent nearly all of 2007 logging days in Iowa traveling across the state’s 99 counties. He had every reason to believe he could be president. He felt the country would let then-Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama destroy each other and he would rise as the more experienced and safe nominee.

To many voters, Edwards could have been president of the United States. Five years later, the possibilities for Edwards are completely different.

Edwards’ criminal trial begins Monday in Greensboro, North Carolina.

He is charged with six felony and misdemeanor counts related to the money dealings of his failed presidential campaign.

Among other things, the government alleges that Edwards “knowingly and willfully” received nearly $1 million in illegal campaign contributions to hide his pregnant mistress from the public so he could continue his presidential bid. Edwards acknowledges that while his actions were wrong, they were not illegal. He could face up to 30 years in prison.

Read more at CNN…

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Image via Wikipedia

The revelation that Arnold Schwarzennegger fathered a child with a member of his household staff shouldn't really be surprising. As a Los Angelino, I have heard many, many stories about Arnold's sexual indiscretions, and the only thing shocking is that this didn't come out earlier. 

As with all gossip stories, I try not to pay it too much attention. Schwarzenneger's personal life is his own business, and has nothing to do with the job he did as governor. The media's obsession with the personal lives of politicians (and in this case, a retired one) is symptomatic of a deeply corrupt industry that cares little for serious news and more about ratings. It is a giant distraction and not something I will be spending much time discussing. However, given the media's unquenchable thirst for these type of stories, I do think it interesting that Schwarzenegger was able to keep this away from them for so many years. Breaking a story like this would have made a newspaper or website millions, and knowing the Los Angeles rumor mill, I am astonished no one came forward to spill the beans. Andrew Sullivan concludes the following:

It seems to me that this proves that when a small group of people all have a powerful incentive to lie, it's amazing what can be done. And this is not the governor of a small-population state far away from the national spotlight. This is the governor of the biggest state, a global super-star, a man known across the planet, subject to massive press exposure, married to a Kennedy. And he got away with it.

While Arnold didn't turn out to be a particularly good governor, his ability to do what Bill Clinton, John Edwards and a plethora of highly visible politicians could not is incredible.

I'm sure the press will be kicking itself for not digging deeper into Schwarzenegger's personal life as they missed a potential goldmine. And it's a pity they wouldn't feel the same way about a story that actually mattered.

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The latest chapter in the story of the narcissistic moron who almost destroyed the Demcratic party.

Sources have told WRAL News that they expect former U.S. Sen. John Edwards to admit that he is the father of his former mistress’ 18-month-old daughter.

Shocking.

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First of all, for what he did to his family. Clearly inexcusable. But also what he almost did to America. Had Edwards somehow attained the Democratic nomination, this story would have surely killed his candidacy and elected John McCain. I can’t believe what an asshole this guy is.

Elizabeth, 59, who is terminally ill with cancer, speaks in far more detail than before about her husband’s infidelity in her new memoir, “Resilience,” due to be published May 12 by Broadway Books. A copy was obtained by the Daily News.

Despite feeling deeply deceived, Elizabeth Edwards nonetheless publicly stood by her husband’s side, lending his candidacy the aura of a warm, loving family life.

But she had actually wanted him to quit the race to protect the family. Edwards admitted the hanky-panky to her days after declaring his candidacy in 2006 – almost a year before the National Enquirer reported it.

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John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extra-marital affair with a novice film-maker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 42-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

His argument that he isn’t the father sounds really shaky, as well as the payoff story. What an amazingly irresponsible, immoral and reckless thing to do — I mean, this is a guy who was running for president.

Bullet dodged.

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I’ve seriously pooh-poohed the idea that Obama would pick Edwards as his running mate. I still think its unlikely. But man, this looks like a ticket.

I, and other people, think that Obama needs an older possibly gubernatorial person to balance his negatives but he may go the Clinton route and pick a candidate that echoes himself. If anything, the optics of two young looking candidates versus McCain would be amplified.

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