0 the mayor has been a major representative of this country, welcoming visitors, celebrated and not from around the world. we know their names well. we know them well. la guardia, john lindsay, ed koch, rudy giuliani, mike bloomberg. they are household names, not just in this country, but in the world at large. so the question of who stands out there representing not just new yorkers, not just democrats in many cases, but us is a question worthy of debate. tonight we have the front-runner for the office of mayor of new york city, city council speaker christine quinn. thank you, speaker quinn, for joining us. it's great to have you on the show. >> thank you. >> i don't think you're ready for this. maybe you've been thinking about this. the public role of mayor of metropolis. >> yep. >> gotham, the big apple, the greatest city in the world. the center of the consciousness of the universe. how big a public role is that in the context of this sleazy thing we've been talking about? office equipment to engage in the kind of pastime anthony weiner has been involved in the last couple of years, would you fire him? >> i think the answer is yes. we have had a number of instances over the years where inevitably of course municipal employers, state employees have used computers and the like for inappropriate purposes and there is a sanction for that. >> you don't think he should be mayor of new york? >> fair point that is correct. >> he should not be mayor of new york? >> that is correct. >> okay. get back to i don't, madam speaker. and the question to you is the first part of that question. if you walked in the room and saw an employee doing what mr. weiner has been doing relentlessly perhaps right up until now, we don't know. >> right. >> would you fire them? >> absolutely. it's a total inappropriate and unacceptable use of in this case government equipment. i think that would be true in any office. but you're at a higher standard in government. it would be unacceptable. but that said, look, i don't think eliot spitzer is in a position to be pointing fingers at anybody as it relates to their private lives or their behavior in these kind of areas. >> so do you think you would vote for him? >> eliot? no, i have enthusiastically endorsed scott stringer who is running for comptroller. >> let me ask you this question. you're also the front running woman. across the board, you're leading the polls. i want to ask you about being a woman. terry o'neill is head of the national organization for women, not just women, but for women. she said of weiner's conduct, quote, mr. weiner does have a problem and his behavior is sexist. let's be clear. it's not respectful of women. get to that point. i know you speak to a lot of women in this race. people say consenting adults. people say mutual. they say sexting back and forth, and i even learned stuff i didn't know about. i asked do women sext? i don't know. i don't really want to know at this point. i've been married forever. let me ask you the question. what is this for women? what does his behavior say to you as a woman and the leading woman candidate? >> well, you know, i think for here, the speaker of the new york city council and the front-runner in the latest polling we've got. congratulations and best of luck in this race. it's going to get hotter. >> that it will. >> we'd love to have you back. >> okay. >> joan walsh is editor of salon. she looks like she has cheered up a bit there watching as a person and a new friend of mine. i'm impressed by she is upbeat. she is cheerful. this is a weird race to be in, i think uncomfortable for everybody. but she seems to be doing pretty well right now in the polls. your thoughts about the women's issue. i want to get to that. is there something aggressive about this behavior by -- nastily aggressive by mr. weiner? >> you know, i think there is. i think there is a problem here when he said last week he was sorry to the women he inconvenienced. you know, the young woman who has come forward now, sydney leathers, she may have some issues in her own life, but she is only 22. and i think to reach out as a public figure, to start poking her on facebook like an idiot nebraska there is something essentially difference in the communication going on here. it's not just misuse of office equipment for personal use, it's a prurient use. in the office you're allowed to distinguish good and bad behavior in this regard. i wouldn't think it's automatically limited to just the spouse. >> sure. you know, chris, that answer applied to the question about women and how he treats women. so, you know, there are other public issues about it. but in terms of that realm of how he has treated her, she is the ultimate judge whether that is decent treatment. but i would say even that suggests that at the very least a lack of empathy and a lack of compassion. >> i want to give anthony weiner a chance here. before we go, i want you to say what you think is going on here. dog day afternoon, about a desperate guy who has robbed a bank, and he is desperately trying to appeal to the crowds under some hopeless root for me, i'm an underdog. dog day afternoon with al pacino. i think this is what this guy weiner is up to now. >> come on, attempted robbery. >> armed robbery. >> all right, armed then. nobody's been hurt. >> get over there, will you? he wants to kill me so bad, he can taste it. [ yelling ] >> this new york guy that doesn't have a prayer in heaven of being elected mayor of new york is out there doing this. he is out there stirring up crazy. he is trying to make himself a victim of himself, but somehow a victim of the media, of us, of the clintons even as of today. he is trying to blame them for feeling uncomfortable about the guy. is this going to work? you're a political expert. this going to work? >> no, i don't think that's going to work. that's compassion on your part to compare that to that amazing achievement by al pacino who does make him a compassionate figure. i don't think anthony weiner is succeeding that that. but i think you're right. i think there is a kind of desperation and appeal to the crowd. you and i talked about this when it broke at the beginning. the first time around there was a sense in new yorkers that he deserved a second chance, and that also some people, some liberals didn't like folks in washington telling them who their representative should have been. they thought he was a good standard bearer. now that is not the sense i'm getting. he is sinking like a stone in the polls. i think that is going to continue. the appeal to the crowd is desperate, but i don't think it's going to work. >> i think we're at most a day or two away from hearing from clinton people. we're already hearing from people like dee dee myers who are very trusted by them. i think they're beginning to signal this guy is embarrassing them and they don't want him around as they begin the slow takeoff for the presidency. thank you, my friend joan walsh for coming on again tonight. >> thank you. >> you're in new york actually. coming up, one reason to care about anthony weiner's behavior is it does involve hillary clinton. yesterday, this is so interesting to watch how she handles this. she is such a pro now. as she had lunch with the president, beautiful pictures of them in the rose garden. breakfast today with joe biden, perhaps telling him the bad news that she is going to run. well, it was a coy campaign, an underground campaign seems to me a very transparent thing to get us used to the idea. this isn't a guessing game. she is going for the presidency eventually. also, president obama makes the republicans i think an offer they can't refuse. it's a pretty good offer. certainly a good deal starter. if they can work on it a little bit, i think they can get somewhere. i don't think they're going to do it. i think the republicans are going to rebuff him again, but he is trying. and bradley manning. talk about good news/bad news. he is found not guilty of aiding the enemy, but is convicted of multiple charges that could add up to 100 years in prison, which by my calculations and by most people's is more than life. finally, let me finish with the offer republicans, well, there is an offer she can't refuse, but they well may. because even though they're getting a good offer about economic growth, they don't seem interested. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Alaska , Illinois , California , San Diego , Russia , Washington , District Of Columbia , Huntington Beach , Tunisia , Tennessee , Sydney , New South Wales , Australia , Nebraska , Iowa , Hong Kong , Ireland , Dallas , Texas , Utah , Brooklyn , Americans , America , Irish , American , Trayvon Martin , Bradley Manning , Joe Biden , Chris Hayes , Barry Goldwater , Dee Myers , Hyman Roth , Bob Mayer Filner , Chris Matthews , Eliot Spitzer , Joan Walsh , Newt Gingrich , Christine Quinn , Michelle Goldberg , Jim Moran , Michael Hersh , David Rodin , Julian Assange , Jeremy Byrd , Michael Hirsh , Al Pacino , David Letterman , William Scranton , Harold Ickes , Edward Snowden , Barack Obama , Sarah Palin , Reza Aslan , Anthony Weiner , Mike Bloomberg , Rudy Giuliani , Hillary Clinton , Ted Cruz , John Lindsay ,