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Alec Baldwin has an interesting, even somewhat sympathetic, take on the Anthony Weiner scandal, which reached new, disgusting heights this week upon the release of the Congressman’s bare penis pic.

In a piece for The Huffington Post, Baldwin delved into the way technology has shaped human behavior and wrote:

“For high functioning men like Weiner and other officials who have lived through such scandals, who are constantly on the go, that leaves one tried and true source of a reliable high. The affirmation that comes when someone lets you know they want to sleep with you. Or even cyber-sleep with you.”

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Smart phones and social networks have opened the door for busy individuals to receive the kind of gratification they aren’t receiving at home, Baldwin argues:

“Appointment sex with your spouse doesn’t always arrive when you need it most. A modern cell phone, loaded with contacts of willing fellow players, has a table with a red checkered table cloth ready for you at virtually any time.”

 
Baldwin doesn’t go so far as to absolve Weiner of his wrongdoing, but he does paint the politician as a “modern human being” who gave in to the temptation right at his fingertips. Literally.

“We tell ourselves that these devices help us communicate more effectively,” the actor wrote. “What they actually do is allow us to bypass the person lying right next to us, across the room from us or at an airport heading home to us, in order to meet our immediate, even inconvenient, needs. To bypass their moods, their current view of us and their own desires, or lack thereof.”

In this case, that would be Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin. She’s pregnant with the couple’s first child.

“I’m sad for him, his family, his district and his colleagues,” Baldwin concluded.

What do you think of the 30 Rock star’s take? It’s a nuanced point of view, one that appears to let Weiner off the hook, but is actually meant to touch upon larger societal issues and how technology can play a negative role in our lives.

Friends say Baldwin is considering a run for New York City Mayor in 2013.

[Photos: WENN.com]