So Weiner will run, squander this small fortune and then start looking for something else to run for or some small cable show, maybe with Al Sharpton: the Crown Heights Follies. But here’s a simple, fool-proof suggestion that guarantees that for once in his life Anthony Weiner will put the public first and prove that he might believe all the platitudes of public service he spouts: Don’t run, and instead give the millions to charity.

Today in New York City, almost half the population is living below the poverty line. They aren’t waking up each morning obsessing over guns or gay marriage or the IRS. They just want to have a better shot at a better life. With that $4 million and change, Anthony Weiner could make a lot of dreams come true. He could send hundreds of kids to college or give hundreds of kids a chance at college. He could start a micro-loan program to help families break the cycle of poverty that has accelerated so dramatically under President Obama. He could make a real difference.

Or he could blow it on people like me: political consultants who don’t need the money and who will tell him he has a chance when he probably doesn’t. He’ll spend it on ads that will make him feel good for a few weeks and probably sad when he’s an old man. Weiner will pay out for focus groups and polls, trying to find the silver bullet that will put the past back in his pants.

Weiner could do something good and selfless that might just make people think he was more than what he so clearly seems to be.