On "seeking treatment", the new moral Teflon....

Recently politicians and other public figures who have made horrible personal decisions have devised a creative new way of shirking responsibility for their actions by announcing that they are "seeking treatment" for their issues.  This apparently absolves them from responsibility and provides them with what they believe is the equivalent of moral Teflon.

A recent example of this is Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York who was accused of posting inappropriate pictures of himself on Twitter and Facebook.  The irony of Representative Weiner posting pictures of his weiner was not lost on me and my first question was what made him think that he, as a public official, could possibly get way with something like this.  My second question was why someone would think that anyone would want to see their weiner.  If those things had arms and legs nothing in the world would be more frightening.  Those things should be locked away and should never see the light of day.  Hot dog manufacturers should sue anyone who sullies the reputation of their products by calling that ugly thing a weiner.  

What if he did it because his last name caused some form of mental instability?  He had to have been made fun of growing up, right?  What is the long-term impact of kids ruthlessly making fun of your name while you're growing up?  If the name calling caused his mental health issue, my fear is that Representatives Schlong, Stiffy, Wanker, Pecker and Dong will follow suit.  If this spreads to the Senate, what about Senators Dipstick, Pole and Rod? And forget about Native American tribal leaders Purple Headed Trouser Snake and Throbbing Python of Love, those men don't stand a chance. 

Anyway, shortly after the proverbial poo-poo hit the fan and amid the cries of righteous public indignation Mr. Weiner announced that he was "seeking treatment."  Now while I know that the medical establishment has worked tirelessly to create new addictions and "diseases" for us to enjoy over the last twenty years or so, I wasn't aware of a psychiatric or medical condition that renders people stupid.  Is there a cure for stupidity?  If there is, I need to know about it and I would like my prescription filled too.

I offer an alternative explanation though.  Seeking "treatment" is just another way for someone to not take responsibility for their actions. It says "I did it because I was sick and powerless to stop myself, but now I am cured and don't have to be accountable for my own supreme stupidity."  But I guess that this is just consistent with what the "Occupy Wall Street" generation seems to be saying; we're all victims here.