Weiner was a lame congressman well before scandal

From the NY Times:

In 12 ½ years in Congress, he sponsored and wrote only one bill that he steered to enactment: a measure pushed by a family friend who gave his campaigns tens of thousands of dollars in donations.

To his admirers, Anthony Weiner was a tireless spokesman for an endlessly changing array of issues in the House. But offstage, those who worked alongside him say, Mr. Weiner was a lawmaker with little patience for making laws and a single-minded focus on generating attention so he could run for mayor of New York.

He earned admiration for his devotion to his constituents. He inspired aides with his quick grasp of difficult subjects, his relentless pace and his office catchphrase: “We don’t wait.” And he impressed local officials with his shrewd use of the machinery of the federal government.

Yet the more lasting impression left by Mr. Weiner, according to more than three dozen people interviewed, was of a go-it-alone politician whose legislative record was thin and whose restlessness could spill into recklessness. He smartly selected issues on which to weigh in but left the difficult legislating to others, they said.

Things haven't changed much. Now he's talking about bowling alleys and defending his tweeder wife from an investigation.