Weiner.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, to be precise.

Besides bequeathing that glorious surname to headline writers the world over, the Democrat also serves as a cautionary tale for politicians. It’s called a digital trail, people.

The US congressman garnered fans on Twitter like Meghan McCain because “his account, unlike most other politicians, seemed like it was written by him and not his press secretary or member of his staff”. As we’ve written before, politicians should be commended for exploring the possibilities of getting in touch with their base through social networking opportunities. Weiner was one of a rare breed who get the idea that social media is an opportunity to converse directly with voters. He exploited social networking so successfully it helped make him “a star of the caucus”, one colleague told Politico.

But touching his base with a photo of his crotch was taking it too far.

Impulsive politicians and the immediacy of social networking sites don’t mix. You can’t lie your way out of it, neither can you spin it. Weiner tried that: after initially suggesting the crotch shot sent from his Twitter account was the result of some kind of cyber attack, on Monday the Democrat tearfully admitted he’d twitpiced his bits himself.

Presenting his underpants to people on the web isn’t a sackable offence. But the implications are bigger if it can be established Weiner’s taxpayer-funded mobile was used to upload his jocks to the world and if his kindly offer of his PR team’s assistance to the p-rn star he was e-flirting with constitutes an abuse of public money.

Weiner now faces a million more headlines exploring the opportunity to combine his surname with the words “ethics probe”.

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CANBERRA CALLING

Every Wednesday, Crikey Editor Sophie Black and Crikey‘s Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane will talk the week’s events in the national capital.

Visit the podcast page on our website at 4pm AEST to download or listen.