I'm reading a New York Times article about Congressman Anthony Weiner, who's running for mayor. Weiner is my parents' local Congressman, and growing up I remember seeing him at all sorts of events, as Sen. Schumer's aide back when Schumer was my local Congressman, and then as Congressman himself. The article does him no favors with this bit:

But Mr. Weiner never excelled at studies, and at times makes light of his academic record, making joking references in conversation to his time at Oxford, which he did not attend, and not mentioning the college he did attend - the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh - in the biographies on his campaign and Congressional Web sites.

He said he failed the admission test for Stuyvesant High School, widely considered the best in the city system, by just one point, and attended Brooklyn Technical High School instead.

At Plattsburgh, he aimed at first to become a television weatherman. But when the meteorology courses proved too difficult, he said, he gravitated toward politics...

This bit isn't thrilling either:

As a bachelor politician, Mr. Weiner and his dating exploits frequently show up in gossip items. A 2001 Vanity Fair story on Capitol Hill interns reported that he wooed a couple of young women a few days after the Sept. 11 attacks, using the alias "Anthony, an auto parts salesman."