Anthony Weiner's future could be in TV: 'The Spitzer/Weiner Hour' would pair two New York hound dogs

BY Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

Sunday, June 12th 2011, 4:00 AM

Photo Illustration; Getty, AP

'The Spitzer/Weiner Hour' would draw attention, and maybe ratings.

Anthony Weiner may soon be looking for work - and we're happy to lend him a hand.

The embattled congressman has vowed to stay in office but mounting pressure on Capitol Hill may still force him to resign. If Weiner does quit, there do appear to be several jobs for which he is well-suited. Here's a look at some of the possibilities, with Baruch College Political Science Professor Doug Muzzio as our guide:

Television

A frequent guest on MSNBC, Weiner has carved out a reputation as a strong, opinionated speaker who can hold his own. A job on television seems likely, Muzzio believes.

"He can become the left wing's Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck," said Muzzio. "Or, even better, we can have the two New York hound dogs together on CNN and we can have "The Spitzer/Weiner Hour."

Since Weiner is an old pal of Jon Stewart, a gig as a Daily Show correspondent is a possibility. Forget about reality TV, though - the "Real Congressmen of Forest Hills" probably wouldn't have too many viewers.

"He's not quite interesting enough, and there are better candidates with better bodies," said Muzzio.

Social networks

Until the events of the last two weeks, Weiner was considered one of the most technologically savvy politicians, with a Twitter feed that was amusing and insightful.

Never without his BlackBerry - as the world now knows - Weiner could be an asset to Twitter, Facebook or other social networking sites.

"He'd probably be adept as a social media adviser," said Muzzio. "His motto could be something like 'Live by the tweet, die by the tweet.'"

Corporate spokesman

With his populist politics and passionate defense of President Obama's healthcare plan, Weiner has long fashioned himself as a friend to the little guy, so a leap to the corporate world may not initially seem logical.

But, in a series of one-on-one interviews with the likes of Wolf Blitzer and Luke Russert about the sexting scandal, Weiner proved quite capable of lying through his teeth - a required skill for a good corporate flack.

"It sounds like a good idea but the problem is that he already has a reputation as a liar, which makes him hard to trust," said Muzzio.

"What profession is there where the ability to deceive is an asset?" the professor asked. "Could he be head of the CIA?"

Photography

Weiner's fondness for photographing himself is now in the first paragraph of his future obituary.

Additionally, he's already shown a skill for distribution, as his self-taken pictures have been splashed to every corner of the Internet, so it could make sense to capitalize on that passion for photos in his future employment.

"Maybe, but his choice of subject matters is pretty awful," laughed Muzzio.

Since many of Weiner's shots are decidedly X-rated, could the congressman simply move into the adult entertainment industry?

"Porn? God, no. No one wants to see the skinny Jewish kid from Queens," said Muzzio. "Besides, his mother would be appalled. There's no way she lets that happen."

jlemire@nydailynews.com