I have been watching with interest the assault on Anthony Weiner, who is running for mayor of New York City.

For the second time, Weiner is being hung out to dry for having traded explicit sexual messages with women who are not his wife. His wife, by the way, stands by her man and says she’s ready to help if need be.

My question is, what’s wrong with Weiner’s behavior?

So he likes online sex and phone sex with women. If we were to arrest everybody who liked these things, we’d have to build a thousand new jails. There is nothing illegal about online sex and there is also nothing particularly immoral about it. Same thing for phone sex.

As kinks go, it is a long way down the list. Nobody seems to be getting hurt by this activity. Everybody involved seems to have been a willing participant.

I wouldn’t know how to get into a chat room if you paid me big money. I know it has something to do with the internet, but that whole world is still kind of a mystery to me.

But I have long believed that whatever your sexual practice is, it’s not anybody else’s business. I don’t think people ought to be hurt. If a spouse is both surprised and hurt by a lying, cheating mate, then you have a problem. (Hello, John Edwards.)

But if everybody knows what’s going on and nobody raises a stink except the media, then I think people ought to rethink this thing. I agree with Weiner when he says he thinks New Yorkers will focus more on his message than on this other stuff.

I hope so. I mean, if Weiner was taking advantage of someone or hurting them or doing something illegal or even seriously immoral, then he should go.

But a little harmless fun online doesn’t seem quite serious enough to derail a political career.