Political Scandals and Comebacks in Black and White
Politicians' routes down the road of redemption.
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Roads to Redemption - Some might say these politicians are either lucky or have a whole lot of chutzpah and in at least a few cases a bit of both. After reaching various levels of political power, these elected officials seemingly threw it all away because they couldn’t control their sexual urges or keep their hands out of the cookie jar. Here's a review of their scandals and comebacks and one former lawmaker's failure to relaunch. —Joyce Jones(Photos from left: REUTERS/Yuri Gripas, Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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Anthony Weiner - Just a few short years ago, then New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was making national headlines for tweeting and sexting lewd pictures of himself. Now, he's running for New York City mayor and giving the other candidates a run for their money — for now. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Eliot Spitzer - Eliot Spitzer stepped down in 2008 as governor of New York after the humiliating disclosure of his penchant for the services of high-priced prostitutes. He has since worked as a host on CNN and Current TV, and written some columns for Slate. Seeing how relatively well things are going for Weiner's mayoral bid, Spitzer is also seeking a political comeback as the state's comptroller. (Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
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Mark Sanford - Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is the current poster boy for political redemption. He famously abandoned his duties for five days to tryst with his mistress-now-wife in her native Argentina. After the resulting fall from grace, Sanford successfully ran for Congress and now fills the seat vacated by Sen. Tim Scott. (Photo: AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)
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Marion Barry - The colorful former Washington, D.C., mayor is among the most infamous politicians who've been tainted by scandal and lived to give another re-election victory speech. After being busted for smoking crack cocaine and serving a short prison term, Barry was elected to the D.C. city council in 1992 and re-elected mayor in 1994. He currently serves as a D.C. council member. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times /Landov)
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