Weinergate Refuses to Die, Thanks to Rep. Weiner

When a curious picture appeared on the Twitter account of New York Congressman Anthony Weiner- he could have laughed, blamed it on some hackers, dismissed it as a simple mockery of his last name and the media pundits would have probably chucked, made a few underwear jokes and let it go. But Representative Weiner chose another route- and today he is in a scandal of his own making. He may have convinced the public that he didn't send the photo, but his uncertainty over whether the picture was of him only served to keep the scandal alive.

"We know for sure I didn't send this photograph," the seven-term congressman told reporters in the Capitol. But he told MSNBC he "can't say with certitude" that the waist-down photo showing a man's bulging underpants wasn't him.

Pressed by reporters about whether it was him in the offending photo, Weiner said: "We don't know where the photograph came from. We don't know for sure what's on it."

The New York Daily News, whose editorial board met with Weiner on Wednesday, said it was convinced by his denial about sending the photograph because he has no reputation for being "loopy" or "lecherous." But it said his refusal to let law enforcement investigate the alleged cybercrime was suspicious.

In this case it is vitally important to get ahead of the story as quickly as possible to mitigate fallout. We would have advised the congressman to laugh heartily at the situation- blame his name and move on- refusing to discuss the matter further as it was obviously a prank he didn't want to encourage by giving the pranksters too much credit.

Going back and forth on whether its him in the picture does nothing but keep the media hungry for more details.