Weiner Revealed

Talk about the shoulder as a perch for our competing good and bad inner selves!

What’s interesting to me is how Weiner lines himself up between a photo taken with his wife and a photo taken with Bill Clinton, with whom he shares the same kind of need for sexual attention. The distance between him and the photo with his wife, compared to the fact his shoulder and the Clinton photo are bisecting is also interesting, as well as the way the family and professional pics all line up opposite Weiner’s pic with “the Big Dog.”  Of course, all this alignment might be completely random, but Weiner is taking a portrait so “where he stands” in relation to these other emotionally charged photos is curious, keeping things straight between the good boy and bad, and between public and private.

I’m also interested in that expression. I don’t think Weiner has been getting any thrill from this. Acting out on compulsions don’t bring any pleasure, only relief.

UPDATE: This photo actually gives us a better sense of how Weiner’s conscience is operating, and speaks to the kind of neediness that underlies his level of sexual obsession and risk taking. The caption at the Daily Mail reads:

Anthony Weiner allegedly sent this image on May 5, after the unnamed woman asked him to prove he was talking to her in real time.

Given the difference in angle between how he’s sitting and how he orients the paper, Weiner creates some ambiguity as to whether he’s a man (a respected man) or, pointing to the frame, he’s really a dog — just some cute dog. Once again, there’s no happiness or sense of thrill in that face. Instead, there’s a sad, seeking, emptiness there.

(10: 25 pm – edited for clarity)