“Mr. Weiner said the place held personal meaning for him, because his brother used to work there. And he made a point of telling me that the restaurant employs models and actresses, commenting on the comeliness of the waitstaff. He also turned around, in an exaggerated pantomime, to eye one of the provocatively-dressed waitresses as she flounced past our table toward the back of the restaurant.

“The move was so theatrical that it seemed like shtick — just Weiner being Weiner — and I didn’t think much of it at the time. Of course now, everything seems different, including the exchanges we had near the end of our conversation, when I asked Mr. Weiner if he had any safeguards in place, like having a staff member read over his Twitter posts before he sent them out.

“‘The answer is no,’ he said. ‘Maybe I should.’”

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“Mr. Weiner spent much of the past 24 hours apologizing over and over to stunned Congressional colleagues and Democratic leaders angry at him for misleading them and the public. Even neighboring House Democrats seemed shaken, with many of them worrying that worse disclosures may still surface…

“Signs of a redrawn political reality quickly emerged for Mr. Weiner, once considered a top contender to become mayor of New York. His campaign donors said they were especially shocked and furious because a week ago the congressman attributed his online travails to a ‘vast right-wing conspiracy,’ according to a contributor who spoke with him…

“One suggestion of his new vulnerability: some New York Democrats have approached former Councilman Eric N. Gioia of Queens about running for Mr. Weiner’s seat, according to two people briefed on the conversations. Mr. Gioia, these people said, is open to the possibility. He declined to comment…

“The Clintons are deeply unhappy about the situation and with Mr. Weiner, said people who had been told of their thinking. Mr. Clinton declined to comment.”

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