Given recent scandals, Anthony Weiner should have been on high alert -- and given his surname, he should've known better.

Weiner's sins were preceded  by New York Representative Chris Lee's Craigslist fumble, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child, and IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn's sexual assault charges. As far as transgressions go, the New York congressman's was pretty tame. But at a time when sexting scandals had just entered the mainstream parlance, Weiner brought the conversation to a new level.

He mesmerized the nation after he denied sending a photo of bulging briefs to 45,000 Twitter followers. His intended recipient was one of about six women to whom he had sent "lewd" photos over the course of three years,  none of whom was his pregnant, high-powered wife.

Weiner was smart, brash, and quick with a quip -- he used them liberally after a blog reported Weiner's May 28 tweet. But the congressman's equivocations earned the wrath of Democrats from Nancy Pelosi to the Clintons.

'Technology fiend'
Before, the up-and-coming congressman was one to watch. His direct messaging fail was ironic, given that in 2008, the New York Times's blog described him as a tough boss and a "technology fiend who requires little sleep and rarely takes a day off." In 2009, New York magazine mentioned his "resilient ambition" to become the city's next mayor. The magazine also mentioned how "one of Congress's leading horndogs" had matched up with "ultrafabulous Huma Abedin," Hillary Clinton's longtime right-hand woman. (Bill Clinton officiated Weiner's and Abedin's 2010 wedding.)

Finally, after dodging embarrassing revelations, raucous headlines, and an embarrassing action figure, Weiner resigned on June 16. He had already been apologizing to Democrats, including his former wedding officiant. He suggested that he would seek professional help and take a temporary leave, but Minority Leader Pelosi would have none of that.

Not everyone wanted Weiner gone, though. A slight majority of constituents didn't think Weiner's personal travails affected the office, and his polls improved after resigning.

'Hiding in plain sight'
The rest of the year was about what the New York Times called "hiding in plain sight." Abedin took a leave from her State Department job while Weiner attended counseling. They went on a "baby-moon" and moved out of Queens, into Manhattan. One of Weiner's sexting buddies published naughty excerpts from her upcoming memoir. But the couple had other things to think about, from the birth of their baby to the death of Moammar Gadhafi. Weiner met with the Republican who won his seat; he also reportedly met with campaign donors and served as a legislative consultant. "Find me in, like, March," he told a New York Times reporter in November.

The Yahoo! Year in Review editorial lead for five years running, Vera H-C Chan dissects news events, pop-culture idiosyncrasies, and online behavior to probe the "why" behind what's hot online. On Yahoo!, her articles can be found in News, TV, Movies, and her Shine blog Fast-Talking Dame. Across the Net, there are remnants of contributions to a cultural travel guide, martial arts encyclopedia, movie criticism, business profiles, and A&E/features reporting.

Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to have come a long way since his "Conan the Barbarian" period. His reputation for womanizing belonged to his old Hollywood days, and the Los Angeles Times's attempts to dredge it up during his 2003 gubernatorial bid had been condemned as irrelevant, if not outright sabotage. He served eight years as California's governor, during which time he failed to stave off a brutal budget crisis, but was respected for his open-door policy and getting the global-warming law passed.

Yet in his first year back as a civilian, he returned to the scandal sheets. On May 9, just 10 days after his silver wedding anniversary, wife Maria Shriver announced she was filing for divorce. The same newspaper that had pursued the earlier allegations of sexual harassment soon broke the story: Schwarzenegger had fathered a child out of wedlock in 1997, six years before suddenly announcing his political candidacy on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." He had kept the love child secret until his tenure was over -- and after the forced confession, his marriage was over, too.

Keeping it in the household
Although the Los Angeles Times didn't disclose the name of the household-staff member Schwarzenegger had slept with, the clues -- she had worked with the family for 20 years before retiring in January -- were enough to point to housekeeper Mildred Patty Baena. Their son was born on October 2, just two days after Shriver gave birth to her fourth child with Schwarzenegger. In a sordid affair, everyone gets muddied: Baena was tarred as the other woman, Shriver as the wife who should've known better, getting her comeuppance for defending her husband earlier.

Shriver figured it out. Baena told Hello magazine that Shriver had heard other household members talk about the housekeeper's son's resemblance to Schwarzenegger. After dropping hints, "finally, she asked point blank," Baena recounted. Instead of recriminations, "she cried with me and told me to get off my knees. We held each other and I told her it wasn't Arnie's fault, that it takes two."

Now back to the career
Among the year's political betrayals, Schwarzenegger's ranks among the top. Still, the revelations barely paused his screen-comeback plans (in a heroic role and a cameo in "The Expendables 2"). His museum in his native Austria opened, as scheduled, on his birthday. And in a bout of obliviousness, he went for a bike ride wearing a gag T-shirt from 2010 that read "I Survived Maria."

A new tweak to this classic tale was the children, who didn't stay silent. Not only did son Patrick and daughter Katherine take to Twitter (Katherine would also talk to Harper's Bazaar), but Baena's shocked daughter defended her "superwoman" mother to Telemundo. As for the secret love child? His reaction to finding out Schwarzenegger was his dad: "Cool!"

The Yahoo! Year in Review editorial lead for five years running, Vera H-C Chan dissects news events, pop-culture idiosyncrasies, and online behavior to probe the "why" behind what's hot online. On Yahoo!, her articles can be found in News, TV, Movies, and her Shine blog Fast-Talking Dame. Across the Net, there are remnants of contributions to a cultural travel guide, martial arts encyclopedia, movie criticism, business profiles, and A&E/features reporting.

John Edwards campaigned for presidency on the notion of "two Americas," became infamous for his simultaneous relationships with two women, and will soon face a jury that will assess his actions and make one of two choices: guilty or not guilty.

The former presidential hopeful was indicted in June on six felony charges related to allegations that he and his co-conspirators used almost $1 million in donations in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act.

The gist of the prosecution's case is this: Edwards built a public image as a family man, strolling the North Carolina shore with his children and taking his wife, Elizabeth, to Wendy's (!) each year on their wedding anniversary. Anything that undermined that image would have a negative effect on his political standing (anything like, say, the revelation that he was having an affair with a woman employed by his campaign while his wife was dying of cancer). Therefore, gifts used to keep his affair secret from the public should be counted as political donations, which are subject to annual limits and must be reported to the Federal Election Commission.

Edwards has pleaded not guilty. His defense contends that the money used to hide and care for mistress Rielle Hunter was given as properly taxed personal gifts and used for personal gain. A trial is scheduled for January.

In related news, Elizabeth Edwards's will was made public in January. The document, signed just a week before her death on December 7, 2010, made no mention of her estranged husband and named daughter Cate as executor of her estate and guardian of the two younger children, Emma Claire and Jack. Cate, a Washington lawyer who focuses on race- and gender-based discrimination, has emerged as the "family glue," walking with her father into federal court and helping to raise her siblings. In October, she married college sweetheart Trevor Upham.

As for John Edwards's romantic life, he is still in a relationship with Rielle Hunter and regularly sees her and their daughter, Frances Quinn. Hunter is embroiled in her own legal battle: A civil suit over an alleged sex tape she made with Edwards drags on.

Caroline Que is the D.C. editor for Yahoo! Local. Before joining Yahoo!, she worked at the Washington Post.

When Atlanta businesswoman Ginger White stated in multiple interviews that she had been involved in an on-again, off-again 13-year affair with Herman Cain, it was only the latest -- and perhaps most damaging -- allegation of the autumn for the presidential hopeful.

White was the fifth woman to accuse Cain of some sort of sexual harassment or relationship, dating back to his tenure as head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. The first allegations occurred in late October, when Politico reported that two women had come forward with claims of sexually aggressive behavior.  According to the accusers, they signed settlements with the Restaurant Association for an undisclosed financial payout. White's story came with phone records and an admission from Cain that he had been paying her bills and expenses, with his wife unaware of the relationship.

Faulty memory
The presidential run struggled after the initial Politico story broke. Cain's spokespeople called the allegations a "smear campaign" that was "settled amicably." A day after the Politico story, Cain claimed no knowledge of the charges, but later that night admitted he was aware of an agreement between the women and the association. The changing story led to late-night shows teeing off on Cain's faulty memory.

The campaign also went so far as to accuse Texas governor Rick Perry's team of planting the story. (Curt Anderson, a staffer on the Perry campaign, had previously advised Cain's Senate contest in 2004.) Cain's chief of staff later retracted the complaint but did nothing to quell the defense that the tea party Republican was a victim of "the establishment." Mainly absent from the campaign trail, Cain's wife Gloria supported her husband against the allegations.

The accusers leveled various claims against Cain. According to Politico, there were conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or suggestive content, as well as gestures that made the women uncomfortable. Fourth accuser Sharon Bialek alleged that Cain had touched her in an inappropriate way and had implied that she could trade sexual favors for a job with the NRA. White said that Cain had never harassed her or treated her poorly, lavishing her with gifts and trips.

Relative newcomer
Cain's clunky response to the controversy ("I just started to remember more") might have been a result of the same thing that spurred his popularity in Republican circles: He's a relative newcomer to politics. A Georgia native, Cain rose through the restaurant industry, taking over as CEO of Godfather's Pizza. He got a taste of politics in a 1994 town hall with President Bill Clinton, when Cain briefly debated the commander in chief about employees' health care. He later became president of the National Restaurant Association, which he built into a top lobbying group.

After finishing a distant second in the 2004 GOP Senate primary in Georgia, Cain became popular on Atlanta talk radio and the tea party speaking circuit. He announced his presidential candidacy in May. As candidates battled for front-runner status, Cain's popularity surged, culminating in late September with an upset win over Governor Perry in the Florida straw poll.

Even before the harassment allegations, Cain was forced to explain prior actions. He had to clarify long pauses and awkward questions when asked about President Obama's handling of Libya. Cain dug himself a deeper hole later. In another instance, Cain said his suggestions to build an electrified fence across the U.S.-Mexico border were a joke, then confirmed that he was indeed serious. And he expressed concern over China gaining nuclear capability, which the country has had for nearly half a century.

Cain has slipped to third in recent polls, and there have been reports that his campaign's recent "reassessment" after White's allegations will lead to him dropping out of the race. The Iowa caucuses are on January 3, 2012.

Chris Wilson is an editor at Yahoo! who has previously been involved in team coverage of World Cup 2010, the royal wedding, and the September 11 Memorial page.

This was a tough year for Silvio Berlusconi. Plagued by scandals and harshly criticized for his handling of Italy's mounting debt crisis, the prime minister was finally forced to step down in November.

Now that he could no longer push for immunity based on his PM duties, the embattled former leader faced court battles as three (for now) cases against him went forward. His first move? To sing love songs, of course!

Berlusconi released his CD, "True Love," with singer/guitarist Mariano Apicella, just one week after his resignation; the release had previously been delayed by the fiscal crisis. The former cruise-ship songster co-wrote all 11 tunes on the album, his fourth with Apicella, over the past two years. His favorite, "Ma se ti perdo" ("If I Lose You"), could have been written about his lost majority in Parliament.

The sex scandals
Well before 2011, the billionaire PM and business mogul had quite the party-host rep. His legendary "bunga bunga" parties (well-attended "orgies" held at his lavish mansion, complete with celebrities and showgirls) reportedly went on even as Italy's debt crisis escalated: A WikiLeaks report described his "penchant for partying hard," while another secret recording captured Berlusconi bragging about the line of girls waiting for favors outside his bedroom. Hey, a failing leader has to unwind somehow, right?

But he may have taken things too far when he allegedly paid for sex with an underage Moroccan dancer named Karima "Ruby" El Mahroug  (otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori or "Ruby heart-stealer"). He was also charged with abuse of power for allegedly trying to influence Milan's police to release the young "heart-stealer" when she was arrested on suspicion of theft in 2010.  His defense team argued that he gave money to the then 17-year-old dancer to help shield her from a life of prostitution, not to pay for sex himself.

But another case against dancer-turned-regional-councilor Nicole Minetti seeks to prove that Berlusconi is just fine with prostitution. Minetti was accused of procuring several "working women" for him (prostitution is legal in Italy, but organizing them for a client is not). Her trial promises to be a sensational one, with witnesses such as George Clooney called to testify.

Tax fraud and bribery
Berlusconi has also been accused of tax fraud, allegedly overpaying the film rights for his company Mediaset and then putting the difference into his own coffers to lower tax liabilities.  Mediaset, which he founded in the 1970s, is the largest media company in Italy. Belusconi remains a controlling shareholder, despite promises to sell his shares to avoid conflict of interest while in office. Another fraud case for the same offense involves his son, Pier Silvio, who is chairman of Mediaset.

Yet another case goes back to 1997: Berlusconi allegedly paid $600,000 to lawyer David Mills to lie in court about business dealings. Mills was convicted and then appealed. The statute of limitations for this case kicks in springtime, so hearings will come fast and furious.

Will 75-year-old Berlusconi actually serve  jail time if convicted? Unlikely: Italy generally doesn't incarcerate older people unless they pose a real danger to society. The burning question: Will the bunga bunga continue in 2012?

Rebecca Krasney Stropoli oversees news coverage on Yahoo! Finance. Before joining Yahoo! in 2007, she worked in a variety of editorial settings, including educational publishing houses and trade magazine newsrooms.

In the early morning hours of August 2, 2011, the former mayor of Detroit walked out of a Michigan prison and into the glare of the media.

He made no comments and quietly walked into a waiting car. He had served just over 14 months for violating terms of parole from a previous stint in jail -- he had admitted to lying about an adulterous affair with his chief of staff, revealed when thousands of text messages were made public.

Age-old story with a modern twist
His downfall was an age-old story with a modern twist. Kilpatrick, the youngest mayor of Detroit, had been accused of corruption, but what earned him 99 days in jail was his admission that he'd lied when asked about his relationship with Christine Beatty, a high school classmate who later became his chief of staff.

Kilpatrick admitted to a judge on September 4, 2008, that he lied under oath during a whistle-blower case. He lied not only about his relationship with Beatty, but also about whether he had known a police officer was looking at activities on the mayor's staff prior to the officer's firing. Much of the evidence against Kilpatrick was revealed through text messages outlined in a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by the Detroit Free Press.

As part of his parole in that case, Kilpatrick was to pay the city of Detroit $1 million in restitution. When a judge ruled the embattled ex-mayor may have squandered or hid thousands of dollars and failed to make timely payments, Kilpatrick was ordered to serve time in prison.

After his release, Kilpatrick returned to his family in Texas, where he relocated after leaving Detroit during the scandal. The former mayor negotiated more flexible terms with a Texas court and now pays $160 a month on a 448-year plan to pay back the city of Detroit.

More charges
One thing lockup didn't change: Kilpatrick granted multiple interviews upon his release, touting his book, "Surrendered! The Rise and Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick." Profits from book sales and speaking engagements should go into an account to be partially funneled to restitution payments, a local judge ordered. So far the publisher has not put any money into that account.

Following his release, Kilpatrick has been praising the strength of his wife Carlita for standing by his side, and says of his mistakes, "I wish sometimes the ability to be smart and to be righteous overwhelmed our ability to hide and be in fear and be stupid."

His August release may only be temporary: Kilpatrick and two other former officials face federal corruption charges of racketeering, extortion, bribery, fraud, and tax evasion for an alleged "pay to play" scheme they ran while working as city leaders.

So, as one chapter of the Kilpatrick saga ends, another continues -- all this as many residents of the beleaguered city of Detroit feel more than ready to put it all behind them.

Ron Recinto is the Detroit editor for Yahoo! Local. Prior to joining Yahoo!, Ron was a print journalist and an online editor for more than 15 years at publications including the Detroit Free Press, the Charlotte Observer, and Red Herring magazine.

When he reigned as head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) was a top contender to unseat Nicolas Sarkozy as French president. But accusations that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid torpedoed his reputation and led to a leadership shakeup.

Strauss-Kahn was staying in a $3,000-per-night Sofitel Hotel suite in New York City. The maid, Nafissatou Diallo, gave a shocking account of DSK emerging naked from the bath as she entered his room on May 14, then chasing her down a hallway, pulling her into a bedroom, and attacking her. That same day, DSK was pulled off a Paris-bound Air France flight. He was arrested and charged with sexual assault and attempted rape.

The case seemed to depict a reprehensible abuse of power and class, pitting a wealthy politician against a low-paid Guinean immigrant. The media frenzy included claims of political frame-ups, lawsuits, and more "insinuations" about DSK's extramarital habits.

Skirt-chasing rumors
Married to journalist Anne Sinclair for 20 years, DSK has long been the subject of skirt-chasing rumors. As the New Yorker's Philip Gourevitch wrote after attending a dinner party with several people who knew DSK, "According to the stories, he grabbed women in elevators, he cornered them in gardens, and if they resisted he liked to pursue [them] with phone calls and text messages."

France has traditionally looked the other way when it comes to the personal affairs of their politicians. But the fallout over these allegations proved devastating for DSK. As he awaited a bail hearing from a cell at Rikers Island (a far cry from his Sofitel suite), he resigned from his IMF post amid international pressure. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was named his replacement in June -- the first-ever female chief.

DSK's future as a French presidential contender had imploded, and he had all the markings of a ruined man. New complaints of sexual assault briefly emerged from French novelist Tristane Banon (the investigation was later dropped). Out on $1 million bail, DSK served "house arrest" at a swanky $50,000-per-month Manhattan townhouse.

Astonishing turn of events
Then the case took another astonishing turn and began to unravel. As law enforcement officers took a closer look at the accuser, they found her credibility lacking. DSK's lawyers had always claimed that the encounter between the two was consensual. Prosecutors found Diallo had lied about her background, including false statements made on her 2003 asylum application and a fabricated account of a gang rape in her native country.

There were also concerns about a financial motive, adding to the theory that the incident was a politically motivated setup that involved hotel staff (a theory Sofitel disputed). With no other witnesses, Diallo's credibility was key. Once that was tarnished, the case had nowhere to go but away. In a little over three months, the largest criminal case pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance was over.

No quick return to politics
Many feminist advocates were concerned that victims of sexual assault might fear speaking up after such a highly publicized fiasco. "What happened to me, I don't want that to happen to any other woman," Diallo said at a rally held in New York, before charges were dropped.

A quick return to the political spotlight doesn't seem likely for DSK; his admitted "moral failing" sullied his reputation, and he is now one of the most disliked politicians in France. New accusations about an alleged involvement in a French prostitution ring haven't helped. He also still faces a civil case from Diallo.

There have been some reports suggesting this case could lead to more scrutiny into the personal lives of French politicians. DSK, for his part, is fighting back: He and his wife filed a lawsuit against several media outlets for invasion of privacy. No matter what happens next, the downfall of DSK was one of the most compelling stories of 2011.

Rebecca Krasney Stropoli oversees news coverage on Yahoo! Finance. Before joining Yahoo! in 2007, she worked in a variety of editorial settings, including educational publishing houses and trade magazine newsrooms.

Before there was Anthony Weiner in his briefs, there was David Wu in his tiger suit.

Like his New York counterpart, Wu, who represented Oregon's first district in the U.S. House of Representatives, resigned his seat amid a salacious sex scandal. Like Weiner, Wu initially vowed to stay in his seat when the story broke. But unlike the embattled New York congressman, who became a daily punchline for late-night comics and doubtless inspired many workplaces to review their social-media best practices, Wu's downfall didn't make the splash Weiner's did. Still, Wu's offenses were arguably much more serious than the former New York rep's foray into digital exhibitionism.

Wu's somewhat ludicrous entry into the national consciousness may have played a part in the divergent story lines. In the run-up to his 2010 reelection, Wu's campaign staffers stated that he was acting erratically and demanded he enter a facility for psychiatric treatment. They offered an interesting piece of evidence that their boss was unraveling: A picture had circulated among his staff of the congressman in an orange-and-black striped tiger suit. The attire wasn't especially outlandish for a father of two young children who was planning to don it for Halloween. However, the fact that he emailed the unsolicited snapshot raised eyebrows and hastened  exits. Six staffers jumped ship after Wu was re-elected in 2010. The mass departures prompted him to apologize and acknowledge that he'd sought professional care, blaming the stresses of fatherhood, his impending divorce, and the death of his father for his unusual behavior.

The tale of "tiger dad" might have ended there. But just as the battle over the debt ceiling grabbed the news cycle, a new report circulated: Wu had been accused by the 18-year-old daughter of a campaign donor of an "aggressive and unwanted" encounter.  The allegations were reminiscent of previous claims that surfaced before the 2004 elections: Wu had been accused of sexually assaulting an ex-girlfriend while a student in Stanford in the 1970s. Wu addressed that report shortly after its publication, calling his behavior at that time "inexcusable."

He also wasted little time in confronting the newest allegations against him, admitting that he'd been intimate with the young woman but insisting the encounter was consensual. A call by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for an ethics investigation into Wu's conduct was met by the congressman's assertion that he would not resign. He changed his tune days later, opting to resign as soon as the debt-ceiling impasse was resolved. Wu stepped down on August 3, prompting Oregon to select a replacement via a special election set for January 2012.

Wu has kept a low profile since his resignation, but his former spokesman, Erik Dorey, seems to have made out all right. He's grabbed a new gig as the communications director for Oregon Democrats looking to replace Wu.

Erin Wright is the Philadelphia editor for Yahoo! Local. Before joining Yahoo!, she worked at NewsWorks, the website of WHYY, Philly's PBS affiliate.

Nevada Senator John Ensign joined an exclusive club in 2011. Not the cheating politician circle: News of his adultery with his best friend's wife came to light in 2009, and that club has too many members to count. Not the last-man-standing circle, in which apologetic sinners now stand alone, with the scorned wife nowhere to be seen.

When Ensign announced his resignation April 21, less than two years after his apology, the Senate Ethics Committee was concluding that, had Ensign stuck around, he would have been expelled. That public censure, the National Journal pointed out, put him in rare company with the likes of Bob Packwood (1992). In fact, Senate.gov reports, "Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only fifteen of its entire membership. Of that number, fourteen were charged with support of the Confederacy during the Civil War."

The committee had already done a rare thing, outsourcing its query to special counsel in February. Ensign's sins didn't lay in the lubricious details, of which there were plenty. As the report put it, "Whether a person is unfaithful to his or her spouse is generally the couples [sic] own business." Expulsion would have resulted from Ensign's "web of deceit" and "violations of law," laid out in 67 very damning pages. The committee recommended the case be re-opened with the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission.

Ensign scandal timeline
Ensign once carried the label of "possible 2012 presidential candidate." In retrospect, that designation looked more like a curse: The scandal broke the same year South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford imploded, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal got an A for "awkward" for his State of the Union rebuttal, and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards was dodging reports of fathering a child out of wedlock.

Even without criminal allegations, the Ensign affair had some outsized elements: He consorted with his wife's high-school friend and his employee, Cynthia Hampton, who was married to his best pal, fellow Promise Keeper, and co-chief of staff, Doug. The Senate report read like a dime-store novel: Ensign's persistence in the affair even after a Christmas 2007 confrontation; multiple interventions from the Family fundamentalist group; the Hamptons' fear of losing their jobs; that $96,000 payout; tales of co-dependent patronage and vengeful blackmail.

Politics as unusual
In January 2011, Ensign was still scheduling fundraisers for his senatorial re-election campaign. The cuckolded Hampton wanted none of that, and neither did Republicans leery of tipping the political scales to Democrats. Pressure led to Ensign's resignation, although he stuck to his legal innocence:

"While I stand behind my firm belief that I have not violated any law, rule, or standard of conduct of the Senate, and I have fought to prove this publicly, I will not continue to subject my family, my constituents, or the Senate to any further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings, or especially public hearings."

He pointed to dropped Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Election Committee probes, but a special Reuters report noted that Ensign handed over "more than 1,000 sensitive emails" to Senate investigators that neither department had seen. The revelation brought up two questions: Why did Ensign turn over emails after holding out for 18 months, and why did the DOJ end its probe before seeing them? Ensign said he had nothing to hide, although committee investigators saw proof of wrongdoing. For the DOJ, a senior official told Reuters that shutting down early made the department look bad.

The Ensign defense
Looking bad doesn't mean re-opening the case, although the Ensign fallout may persist. Dean Heller, who slipped into Ensign's seat, faces a 2012 election with difficult odds and a possible strategy to taint him with Ensign's sins. Doug Hampton faces a 2012 trial for illegal lobbying. (The former aide, who once earned $14,000 a month, can afford only a public defender.)

The DOJ case against former Democratic hopeful John Edwards -- whose own affair led to criminal charges -- might portend a case against Ensign. After all, Edwards's attorney invoked his former senatorial peer and argued that since Ensign hadn't been indicted, Edwards shouldn't be either. The gambit didn't work.

The Yahoo! Year in Review editorial lead for five years running, Vera H-C Chan dissects news events, pop-culture idiosyncrasies, and online behavior to probe the "why" behind what's hot online. On Yahoo!, her articles can be found in News, TV, Movies, and her Shine blog Fast-Talking Dame. Across the Net, there are remnants of contributions to a cultural travel guide, martial arts encyclopedia, movie criticism, business profiles, and A&E/features reporting.

Is a toad not a toad if it's a member of Congress, insisting that he isn't a toad, to a woman he's emailing in the hopes of a more "intimate" acquaintance?

Ah, Chris Lee. We hardly knew ye. Unfortunately for the former New York representative, the same couldn't be said for Yesha Callahan, the woman he "met" via the magic of Craigslist.

Callahan threw down the gauntlet in her initial posting on the site,  asking -- perhaps semi-rhetorically -- for someone to prove to her that not all men browsing Craigslist looked like toads. Lee stepped up to the challenge, but not before trying a little subterfuge. The then 46-year-old congressman shaved several years off his age and changed his profession to "lobbyist" before writing back and describing himself as a fit, fun, classy guy who was certainly not a toad.

As proof, he sent along a snapshot of himself in a classic, if not boring, outfit of a powder-blue polo with light-colored slacks. When Callahan wrote back, opining that the shot was reminiscent of a JCPenney ad, Lee upped the ante. He sent her the type of image familiar to anyone who's ever had a MySpace page: the bathroom-mirror flex shot.

If not for some curious decisions on Lee's part, it might all have ended there. Taking the photos at all was a questionable decision, but doing so and having his face so clearly visible was a head-scratcher. Also, though he took great pains to construct a cover story and false identity, he sent the emails from an address that contained his real name.

In any event, Callahan seemed less than impressed by the pecs, asking if Lee sent shirtless pics to every woman he corresponded with on Craigslist. She later said that she was joking, but several one- and two-line emails later, Callahan claimed that Lee asked her to send "racy" photos of herself, which prompted her to cool their email friendship.  After doing  some Internet research, she discovered his true age, profession, and marital status. And after wrestling with whether to sit on this info or save other potential Craigslist users from the site of Lee's abs, she sent the correspondence to Gawker.

Lee resigned that day, using the boilerplate "I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family" speech that so many politicians have perfected. He's faded back into the relevant obscurity from which he came -- mentions of his name now usually prompt a "Who? Cliff Lee? He's on Craigslist?"

A special election held May 24 saw Democrat Kathy Hochul winning election to Lee's vacated seat. Nearly four months later, the tables were turned when Republican Bob Turner was elected to fill the seat of similarly disgraced New York Representative Anthony Weiner.

It's possible that Weiner took note of Lee's transgressions and attempted to not make the same mistakes. Weiner, at least at first, seemed to make sure that his steamy photos were taken below the neck, and, in some cases, even lower.  That didn't help him in the long run, either, but hey -- the effort was there.

Erin Wright is the Philadelphia editor for Yahoo! Local. Before joining Yahoo!, she worked at NewsWorks, the website of WHYY, Philly's PBS affiliate.