Other Bad Things That Have Happened to Weiner

Pre-Weinergate Life

Until last week, Rep. Anthony Weiner was leading a charmed life. Married to a Hillary Clinton assistant with fashion-model looks, beloved by liberal fans for his defense of health care reform, buddies with Ben Affleck (pictured here—yes that's really him) Weiner seemed to have it all. Then this photo was posted to his Twitter account and nothing has been the same since. Yet this is far from the first mishap in the story of Anthony “Not To Be Fucked With” Weiner, as he has been known to call himself. Here are a few other things that have gone wrong for Weiner, whose career has sometimes resembled a Judd Apatow movie.
Zuma Press via Newscom.
1. Attacked by a goat

Weiner has only himself to blame for this one. Not only did he opt to involve two goats named Lancelot and Arthur in a news conference about mohair subsidies, he sponsored a Facebook caption contest in advance. Apparently unimpressed by sharing a microphone with a member of Congress, one of the hairy props speared him with enough force to draw blood.
Anthony Weiner via Facebook.
2. Suffered a black eye in a baseball game.

The highly competitive Weiner has long prided himself on his athletic prowess, claiming “catlike speed” in his congressional baseball game bio. This wasn’t enough to save himself from a bruiser, however. At the 2007 event, he collided with Rep. Jim Marshall of Georgia, who was also going for a fly. “That was my ball,” he insisted after the incident.
Newscom.
3. Accused of taking illegal funds from foreign models

Before he was married to Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, pictured here, Weiner was just another single lawmaker with dreams to become mayor … and make life easier for the models of the world. His push to increase supermodel visas was designed, he said, to give the New York fashion industry a boost. Maybe so, but it also made him an ally of beauties across the globe, and Brazilian models contributed $1,400 to his 2009 mayoral campaign. He returned the money, but not before he was lambasted with headlines like, “Weiner’s Naughty Hottie$.”
Newscom.
4. Early dreams crushed by a single wrong answer and difficult weather.

As a teenager, Weiner planned to attend New York’s Stuyvesant High School but failed the admissions test by one point. Instead he went to Brooklyn Technical High School, where another dream sprouted: to become a TV weatherman. Unfortunately, meteorology classes were just too hard, he later confessed to the New York Times, so he switched to politics.
Anthony Weiner via Twitter.
5. Mayoral bid spoiled by City Council

In 2009, Weiner was considered a promising candidate to replace New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was prevented from running for a third term by the city’s term-limit law. “I fully expect to be the next mayor of this city,'' he declared. Then the city council changed the rules on term limits, allowing Bloomberg to run for a third term, ultimately defeating Weiner. Here he’s pictured during his first failed bid for mayor in 2005.
Frances M. Roberts/Newscom.
6. Turned into a Weiner Dog by Glenn Beck

Weiner’s criticism of gold dealer Goldline in 2010 turned him into Public Enemy No. 1 for Glenn Beck, a longtime pitchman for the company. Beck’s people decided to honor their new foe with a website featuring a collection of images of Weiner’s face Photoshopped on a hot dog and other childish creations.
Courtesy Weinerfacts.com.
7. Embarrassed by a parking problem

Weiner is not the most careful parker. He racked up $2,180 in unpaid parking violations between 2006 and 2010, including three tickets in a single day in June 2007, according to Roll Call. Making matters more embarrassing, Weiner had previously come out strongly against diplomats who failed to pay their tickets. Following Roll Call’s request for comment, Weiner paid up. In this photo, from last month, Weiner is reading Roll Call, perhaps to make sure he hasn’t been hit by another weird mishap.
Tom Williams/Roll Call via Newscom.