Obama on Weiner: 'I Would Resign'

But stops short of calling for congressman's resignation
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2011 6:00 PM CDT
Obama on Weiner: 'I Would Resign'
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) leaves a press conference after admitting to sending a lewd Twitter photo of himself to a woman and then lying about it.   (Getty Images)

President Obama is the latest top Dem to weigh in on Weinergate, stopping short of calling for the New York rep to step down, but telling an NBC interviewer that, "I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign. Because public service is exactly that, it’s a service to the public.” Obama added that Weiner had "embarrassed himself," and that his sexts were "highly inappropriate." The White House has heretofore called Weiner's scandal only "a distraction."

“When you get to the point where, because of various personal distractions, you can’t serve as effectively as you need to at the time when people are worrying about jobs and their mortgages and paying the bills, then you should probably step back," the president added. The interview with Ann Curry, which focused largely on the economy and not rogue congressmen, will air on tomorrow's TODAY show, notes NBC. (More President Obama stories.)

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