Anthony Weiner's Greatest Campaign Hits
New York City has finally finished its campaign for the Democratic nomination for mayor, and it's a very exciting time for New Yorkers, who get to stop being berated. It's an especially exciting time for Bill de Blasio, who won the election with more than 39 percent of the vote and may have avoided a runoff against second-place Bill Thompson.
But things aren't quite as nice for the former congressman who wound up in fifth place with just under 5 percent of the vote as of Wednesday morning. No, for Anthony Weiner, Election Day was all about the obvious denouement of a disaster orgy of a political campaign.
Weiner even ended his campaign in full-Weiner style, with a drive-by middle finger to the press and an awkward, unwelcomed appearance at his campaign party by Sydney Leathers, one of his online partners.
And now, there likely won't be much reason to think about Anthony Weiner or Carlos Danger again.
But before we get there, it's time to look back at some of the greatest hits of a campaign that probably should've never been. Anthony Weiner, this is your life, 2013, in no particular order.
1. Meet Carlos Danger
The New York Post's cover.
This was the obvious kick-off. The Dirty, which is a thing and online, published an arsenal of new pictures and texts that Weiner sent to a woman in 2012. Those documents included the bizarre, now infamous, alias "Carlos Danger." They also included a picture of the candidate's genitals.
Before this all happened, Weiner was actually doing pretty well in polling. If nothing else, expect to see plenty of semi-racist Carlos Danger costumes this Halloween.
2. Don't Come at Me, Grandpa
At an early August AARP forum, Anthony Weiner managed to find a new way to offend voters by getting in a minor verbal scuffle with Republican candidate George McDonald, which was caught on camera.
The actual words weren't all that vulgar, but it ended with Weiner—who was, again, at an AARP forum—calling McDonald, who is about 20 years older than Weiner, "grandpa." AARP released a statement after the forum, calling Weiner's remarks "unfortunate."
3. King Kong
There's not much to say about this one. It's the August 5, 2013, cover of The New Yorker, and you can see it in full here.
4. Handbag Harlots
By the end of July, the Weiner mayoral campaign was squarely in free-fall. The campaign's communications director, Barbara Morgan, didn't help.
In a phone call with Talking Points Memo's Hunter Walker, Morgan went off on a former campaign intern, calling here a "F—g slutbag," among other, less printable terms. Morgan later apologized.
5. Jamaica!
During September's West Indian American Day Parade, Weiner stood on a float and did a very, very bad Caribbean accent. "Anybody here from Jamaica?" he asked. It did not go over too well, and he quickly knocked it off.
6. "You Are Not My God"
OK, this one edges pretty strongly in Weiner's favor. Last week, Weiner got in a bit of a screaming match with a patron at a Brooklyn deli. As it turns out, the argument was provoked by the man saying, "You're married to an Arab."
The video also makes something else totally clear: New York City delis are just the best. Even if not all of their patrons are.
We've surely missed some memorable campaign moments, and we welcome suggestions in comments. But that'll do it for our 2013 Anthony Weiner coverage. We think. In the meantime, there are actually a lot of important issues at stake in the New York mayoral election. And if you'd like to know more about the possible winner of the Democratic nomination, Bill de Blasio, The Atlantic's Molly Ball has you completely covered.
But, Weiner, thanks for being a light-hearted break from the terrible things going on in the world. And for actually, despite your myriad slipups, trying to run a campaign that you believed in. And, hey: There's always 2016.
