Regarding the July 25 front-page article “A wronged wife, a defiant defender,” about former congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin:

Why do male politicians think that trotting out their wives to be publicly humiliated at a news conference will win them votes? While the status of Mr. Weiner and Ms. Abedin’s marriage is their own business, I will never vote for a politician who would degrade his wife in such a way and put me in the position of cringing as I watch. Enough already! These men need to stand on their own two feet at their press conferences, instead of dragging their elegant wives into the gutter with them.

Joyce LaVacca, Falls Church

It’s called fidelity for a reason. The word comes from the Latin for faith, and in common language it refers to being honest with one’s spouse. The concept is closely tied to that of integrity — being of one mind, not duplicitous.  If a man seeking public office lies to his wife, or engages in lewd conduct behind her back, repeatedly while claiming innocence — what possible reason do we have to believe that he would not lie repeatedly to everyone else? The Anthony Weiner saga is nothing new, but it defies logic that anyone could trust such a person with any important moral or civic responsibilities.

Michael Gladish, Mitchellville

Regarding Ruth Marcus’s July 25 op-ed column, “Huma Abedin’s deja vu moment”:

In general, we ought not to exclude from office highly capable people who have some personal foibles. No one is perfect. And not many would stand up to the intense scrutiny of an important election without a few glaring flaws showing up.

But Anthony Weiner’s errors represent more than mere personal failings. Anyone who would ruin his career by sending out graphic sexual pictures of himself, and continue to send such pictures when making plans to mount a comeback, is so profoundly irrational and unbalanced that he is not fit to lead a Little League team, never mind a major city.

Why his wife is standing by him in what Ms. Marcus rightly calls a “foolhardy” attempt at a comeback is a mystery.

Michael Wood, Chicago