Daily Herald editorial

Were it not for his name, or did he not represent a district in the world’s news capital, Rep. Anthony D. Weiner might not be in quite the jam he is in today. As it stands, Weiner’s misdeeds serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of social media and politicians’ mis-statements.

After spending a week denying that he took photos of his own underwear-clad torso then sent them to a young woman via Twitter, the New York congressman suddenly changed course and admitted he had done exactly what he was suspected of doing.

It seems like some scandal involving members of Congress or the White House crops up every year, so the fact that there’s scandal is no surprise. The only surprise is that any adult, especially a public figure, would think that any information that’s out there on Twitter, Facebook or other social media could possibly remain secret. And that misjudgment certainly calls into question whether the responsible party is competent for much of anything. That is a question not for us but for Mr. Weiner’s constituents and whatever passes for a House ethics committee.

The real lesson is that in the 21st Century, our “virtual” behavior via the internet is just as important and revealing as”real” behavior has traditionally been — a lesson for which we can thank Mr. Weiner.