ANTHONY WEINER

The media circus surrounding Anthony Weiner and Twittergate came to an end this afternoon when Weiner held a press conference in an attempt to resign from Congress with a shred of dignity and expression of remorse.

He was forced to shout like a barker from his podium as obscene shouting roared through the presser, many of the comments lewd and cruel.

No doubt, Weiner screwed up. What he did was not only stupid, but close to insane. He clearly has a mental problem but who cares. His fellow Democrats certainly had no sympathy for the long-serving Representative whose constituents, despite Weiner's dalliances, were sticking with him....even if he was acting like a somewhat deranged man.

And what of the press? They fed this story with bizarre glee. Young Luke Russert, this his first national story, did what every cub reporter does: Went after his subject, knowing that if he could get Weiner to resign his career would be off and running. Sleazy, sleazy, sleazy.

Perhaps the lowest point in this painful all too human episode was when the Democratic President of the United States, Barack Obama, weighed in on this tortured affair. Was it necessary for the president to insert himself in this mess? I think not. It used to be that presidents stayed above the sordid fray. That was when the Office of the Presidency had dignity.

As for the Republicans: They rode this story like a fine circus performer. They shut up when the Dems didn't, and piled on when the Dems did not. In the wake of the press conference they continued to pile on, even after Weiner bowed to the pressure and resigned his longstanding job.

No one comes out of this story looking good. In many ways the story is much bigger than Anthony Weiner. It is a story that reflects America's morally corrupt society. The image it reflects is not a pretty picture.

Perhaps a moment of personal reflection would benefit us all.