Hey, there’s nothing that Americans love better than redemption and a second chance, right?  We’ve rehabilitated everyone from Marion Barry to Richard Nixon to Eliot Spitzer — all right, the jury’s still out on Spitzer, but you get my drift.  CNN asked me to consider the question of why Anthony Weiner had to resign and whether or not he could make a comeback in politics, as he clearly hinted in his strangely ebullient resignation statement yesterday:

Weiner made three mistakes that pushed Democrats and Republicans alike into demanding his resignation. First, unlike other sex scandals that take place behind closed doors and between adults, Weiner made his activities public and engaged in apparently indiscriminate online relationships. It’s one thing to commit adultery or even be promiscuous, but it’s another to have the erect genitalia of (presumably) the congressman floating forever on the Internet.

Second, Weiner’s activities started to look less like consensual if unusual fun and more like predatory behavior. When a porn star holds a press conference to complain about getting pushed into sexual conversations, it’s difficult to ignore.

Weiner’s biggest sin, though, was lying about the issue — and then getting his friends and allies to publicly defend him by lying to them as well. Fox News analyst Kirsten Powers, who briefly dated Weiner years ago and remained a good friend until he used her in this manner, wrote a devastating response after Weiner’s confession that called his behavior sociopathic and misogynistic.

That’s probably the biggest hurdle to a political comeback.  With that track record, why would any politician want Weiner as a colleague?  The very people who would have to give Weiner assistance in making an electoral comeback are the same ones he humiliated in the ten days of denial.  Don’t expect them to be enthusiastic about putting their necks on the line again for him, especially since NY-09 has plenty of liberal Democrats that can replace him.

Don’t expect the public to be terribly forgiving, either.  Much has been made about the fact that Weiner didn’t actually conduct physical relations with women outside of his marriage, but that’s part of the problem.  Many people might have a certain amount of understanding about someone having an affair and would consider it a private matter between spouses rather than a public issue.  But Weiner made it public, quite literally, and the odd and (at the very least) immature nature of the behavior will not be easily overlooked by voters who expect more responsible, mature behavior:

Mostly, though, the problem is the childish, immature behavior that put Weiner in a position where resignation was his only real option. The kind of sexual behavior online that Weiner conducted is the kind we would expect from a teenager, not a grown man of 47 in Congress with a child on the way — especially since Weiner seemed to focus his attentions on very young women. …

Weiner needs to grow up before he can come back, and he’ll need to convince voters of a sudden onset of middle-aged maturity to succeed.

Frankly, the press conference yesterday didn’t leave the impression that Weiner understands that.  He seems to think that merely taking a brief leave of public life is all that will be necessary.  I wouldn’t bet on any return to electoral politics for Weiner, at least not for a very long time.

What do you think?  Take the poll: