What if President Barack Obama were in Rep. Anthony Weiner’s shoes?
Obama called the congressman’s photographic indiscretions “highly inappropriate” and said that he would resign if he were in Weiner’s position.
Obama made the remarks in an interview with NBC News’ Ann Curry. The interview is scheduled to air Tuesday morning on “Today.”
“Well, obviously what he did was highly inappropriate,” Obama told Curry. “I think he’s embarrassed himself, he’s acknowledged that, he’s embarrassed his wife and his family. Ultimately there’s going to be a decision for him and his constituents.”
“I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign,” he said. “Because public service is exactly that, it’s a service to the public. And 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.”
Obama’s comments echoed what Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday afternoon.
(ON THE OUTS: Obama ditches Weiner)
“The president feels … this is a distraction, [and] as Congressman Weiner has said himself, his behavior was inappropriate, dishonesty was inappropriate,” Carney told the reporters during a campaign trip on Air Force One.
With the top Democrat in the land not in his corner, Weiner has even fewer friends in Washington. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz both called on Weiner to resign Saturday.