More bad news for Weiner: Campaign manager quits
(CNN) - Days after Anthony Weiner admitted to lewd chats with women online, his campaign manager quit, Weiner and his campaign said Sunday.
Danny Kedem's departure is the latest sign Weiner's New York City mayoral bid is struggling amid allegations of online sexual impropriety. After the chats and photographs became public Tuesday, a poll showed him dropping to second place among Democratic candidates for mayor and his favorable numbers plummeting.
"Danny has left the campaign," Weiner told CNN affiliate NY1. "He did a remarkable job."
Praising the "excellent staff" remaining in his organization, Weiner said more volunteers had flocked to his bid in the last few days than at any point since his campaign began.
"This isn't about the people working on the campaign, it's about the people that we're working for," he said.
Kedem, a 31-year-old operative who previously worked for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, declined comment in an e-mail to CNN.
Weiner first acknowledged Tuesday that he did not stop sending raunchy online chats to women when he left Congress in 2011. That resignation was prompted by allegations from several women that Weiner had sent them lewd photographs of himself.
Speaking at a news conference Thursday, the Democrat said he couldn't say for sure how many more women might come forward.
"There are a few. I don't have a specific number for you," Weiner said.
Pressed to provide a guess as to how many online relationships occurred after his resignation, Weiner said, "I don't believe I had any more than three."
He has resisted calls from his rivals to withdraw from the mayor's race, saying the decision of whether he's trustworthy enough for the job should be up to voters.
His chief rival for the Democratic nomination, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, stopped short of calling for his withdrawal from the mayor's race Sunday but lambasted his actions as generating further distrust in government.
"I think it's become very clear that former Congress member Weiner has a pattern of reckless behavior, an inability to tell the truth and a real lack of maturity and responsibility," Quinn said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I don't think he should be mayor, and I think voters, if he stays in the race, will make that very clear."
On Friday, Weiner indicated he may stop answering questions altogether about his online relationships.
"There's going to reach a point fairly soon that I'm going to say I think I've said enough about it, and I'm going to keep just talking about other things," he told reporters on Staten Island.
CNN's Chris Kokenes and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
He's so incredibly ugly!
Am I right?
Weiner has a level of narcissism rarely seen in American politics, or anywhere else. There is no way this man is fit for public office.
The entire question rests on only one issue with me. The issue is his appalling lack of judgement. How can he decide what to do for the good of anyone if he doesn't realize that putting his sexual life in the public domain is STUPID. Just that would be enough that I wouldn't want to vote for him for a garbage collection position, what would he do with access to your information.
Yer just embarrassing yerself. Do the gracious thing and quietly walk away Anthony!
I'm a Democrat and I'm so embarrassed by him.
take the hint, mr. weiner. time to move on, out of the public arena and into a private life... and maybe straighten out what is left of your personal life.
Weiner needs to leave the race. He is unfit for office. It is that simple.
Who in their right mind wants to run a campaign for a lunkhead like Weiner?
Maybe his wife will be his New MGR .......
You can't trust an addict. Weiner is a sex addict. Surely NYC can find someone better for Democratic candidate.
Weiner should take the hint and withdraw.
hopefully voters,let him know. we don't vote for sexual wack jobs
Wiener is one of the most disgusting people in the news today. He is mean, nasty, confrontational, hypocritical, explosive, demeaning, aggravating, repulsive and lastly a LIAR. This being said, many New Yorkers identify with this type of personality. New York city, you deserve Wiener as your new Mayor!
I agree that he has poor judgement but his opponent "Quinn" went against the will of the people to overturn term limits in the city council and gave birth to the Mayor's illegal third term. So who is worse? One who exhibits poor ethics in his bedroom or one who exhibits poor ethics representing the people?
Weinders willingness to sacrifice integrity to engage in online promiscuity (and while he is still married) demonstrates he's set a standard above those the general public would expect from any public representative. Someone so visible in the public, who knows as a public official, that his actions will be scrutinized, but still doesn't exercise restraint, sets the precedence that his own needs are more important than the needs of the public. Accepting him as public official would send the message to others, that it's ok for public officials to not care what the public thinks about his behavoir once the doors are closed.
Castro blames porn, Weiner blames his name.
The guy's a sleazeball. If NYC is fine with that, I don't care. If he ran for office where I live, he'd get no votes. Those that would vote for him in NYC are those that would get something out of it for themselves.
Sinking ship!
Why don't normal people run for office?
I see that most of the comments agree on one thing: drop out and move on with your life. Get some professional help with your illness and yes, what you enjoyed doing is an illness. You have not only embarrassed your family but the office of Mayor which you were running for. In fact, move out of NYC or NY and start over again. Unfortunately, your name will not soon be forgotten but you could give it the old college try!
It's not a matter of his being entitled to his privacy. His sexting to women who have not found it humorous or desirous has made his antics and his personal life public. Moreover, he's a public figure and as a public figure he has certain obligations. One of them is to avoid sending text message to women who do not want them. To me this is easy. As for whatever good this man has done, there's a balance to be considered. So far the bad outweighs the good.
Weiner should follow his campaign manager's example and quit too. He's a total loser.
If you fail Mr. Weiner, and you will, then your wife will file for divorce. She is not a better person than you, she is just waiting to see if you going to pull a miracle and get elected as NYC mayor.
If Weiner were one of those Christian preachers caught with a male prostitute and an ounce of meth, he would say Je-Zus has forgiven him and keep going.
Strange that the standards of godless Democrats are higher than godly christians...
Isn't there a difference between what Bill Clinton or Mark Sanford did outside of their marriages?? The Weiner has taken sexual indiscretions to a new level by trolling the internet for victims. He could have hooked up with a minor, and then he would be a sexual predator for sure! New York City cannot have a public official who might not even be allowed within 1000 feet of a school! Get rid of him now!