all over?

BBC: Senior US Democrats have called for the resignation of a New York congressman who admitted sending lewd photos of himself to women.

National party chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Anthony Weiner’s behaviour was “indefensible” …. the “sordid affair” had become an “unacceptable distraction”.

“It is with great disappointment that I call on Representative Anthony Weiner to resign,” she said in a statement. “The behaviour he has exhibited is indefensible and Representative Weiner’s continued service in Congress is untenable.”

Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said Mr Weiner had recognised that he “needs help”. “I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a member of Congress,” she said.

Congressman Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, also called for Mr Weiner to go, saying: “With a heavy heart, I call on Anthony to resign.”

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NYT: Representative Anthony D. Weiner planned to check himself into a treatment center on Saturday after House Democratic leaders, including Nancy Pelosi, called on him to resign and suggested he needed psychiatric counseling.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiner said he would request a leave of absence from the House and seek treatment, but provided no further details.

“Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” said the spokeswoman, Risa Heller. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.”

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night everyone

A very, very, very big thank you again to Henry VIII (!) for visiting us today (here) – thrilled to have you here, Mr Healy!

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Bye bye Muppets, hello the Living Dead…..

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Worried about Huntsman?

Nate Silver: …. polling worse than Mr. Gingrich was Mr. Huntsman. About half of the views Republicans expressed about Mr. Huntsman were negative, producing an Unacceptably Index of 51 percent.

Thank you Suzanne

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See you tomorrow 😉

newt’s campaign sure is going well

Washington Post: Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign imploded Thursday afternoon with his entire senior staff resigning en masse… “When the campaign and the candidate disagree on the path, they’ve got to part ways,” said Rick Tyler, a longtime Gingrich spokesman who was among those who left the campaign.

Tyler as well as Rob Johnson, Gingrich’s campaign manager, Dave Carney and Katon Dawson, senior strategists to the effort, media consultant Sam Dawson, Iowa strategist Craig Schoenfeld, South Carolina operative Walter Whetsell and Georgia-based adviser Scott Rials have all stepped aside. Much of Gingrich’s early state operation was also headed for the exits…

…Gingrich released a statement via Facebook pledging to continue in the race: “I am committed to running the substantive, solutions-oriented campaign I set out to run earlier this spring,” Gingrich wrote. “The campaign begins anew Sunday in Los Angeles.”

Among the issues leading to the resignations … was the two-week vacation that Gingrich and his wife, Callista, insisted upon taking against the advice of his top political staff. Coming as it did after one of the most disastrous campaign launches in recent memory….

…Carney and Johnson are longtime aides to Texas Gov. Rick Perry who has said in recent days that he is contemplating a run for president himself in 2012. The Carney and Johnson resignations will fuel speculation that Perry is moving toward the race.

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