Sanford, Weiner and the limits of political redemption

Sanford’s attempt to draw attention to his Democratic opponent’s reluctance to debate him risked underscoring how his once promising political career had been reduced to a low-budget gimmick.

Unlike Sanford, former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner now finds himself exactly where he thought he would be four years ago: on the verge of launching a campaign for mayor of New York City.

But just like his fellow scandal-scarred politician to the South, Weiner appears to be struggling in his comeback effort. Something else the two men share: Their falls from grace are rooted in sexual indiscretions. And their difficulties prompt a key question — have they overestimated the limits of redemption in a political system that has long celebrated it?…

Through their once highly unlikely 2013 comeback bids, Sanford and Weiner have shown a driving desire to return to public life, even at the expense of opening up old wounds. But in part through their own mismanagement of these comeback attempts, both men have thus far failed to make the case to voters that the reasons to give them a second chance outweigh the reasons not to.