Breitbart News speculated a few days ago that Huma Abedin is staying with Anthony Weiner because of her own political ambitions. Now more in the journalism world agree with this assessment, and some suggest she learned how to handle a sex scandal by watching Hillary Clinton.
The biggest lesson? How to make your husband’s sex scandal work for you. No one knows that better than Clinton. From The Atlantic Wire:
“As the many glowing profiles of Huma Abedin in recent months have noted, she learned a lot working as Hillary Clinton’s right-hand woman since the 1990s,” the Atlantic’s Elspeth Reeve wrote Wednesday. “But maybe the biggest lesson Abedin learned was not just how to help her husband survive a sex scandal, but how to launch her own political career.”
Weiner is running for the Democrat nomination for New York City mayor. On July 23rd The Dirty exposed a new sexting scandal involving the disgraced former congressman, which happened one year after he resigned.
There are rumors floating around Clinton will receive the 2016 Democrat presidential nomination. Abedin was her right hand woman in the 1990s and stayed with her when she was Secretary of State. Clinton stayed in her marriage and it elevated her political career. If Clinton wins in 2016, Abedin could reach higher political positions than Weiner. Monica Crowley pointed that out on FOX News:
“Her tendency would be to go the Hillary Clinton model,” Crowley said on Fox News. “It is clear that Huma, given her position with Hillary Clinton who is running for president in 2016, that she has a lot of personal ambition of her own. What may be taking place here is shared ambition on the part of both of them to achieve ever higher positions of power and using their marriages to do it.”
But could it work? Some think taking the Clinton route will damage any credibility she earned while working with Clinton. This includes FOX News contributor and Weiner’s ex-girlfriend Kirsten Powers:
“I do think she put her credibility on the line when she came out and did the press conference,” Powers said on Fox News. “Whether she wanted to be there or not, what does it say about a husband who lets his wife do that? It was extremely humiliating.”
Overall, it is a brilliant strategy. She largely remained in the background during his first sex scandal, but now everyone is talking about Abedin. The news appears to be more about her than Weiner too. Either way, whether it helps or not, her name is out there and everyone will get to know Huma Abedin, who could receive a powerful position if Clinton wins in 2016.