Anthony Weiner's launches his campaign. (http://www.anthonyweiner.com)

He's in. After weeks of speculation, disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner has officially thrown his hat into the mayor's race, announcing he's running with a new video posted on his revamped campaign website at midnight on Wednesday.

"Look, I made some big mistakes. And I know I let a lot of people down. But I've also learned some tough lessons," he says in the video, which opens with a family scene of the former councilman and his wife, Huma Abedin, having breakfast in their kitchen with their young son.

"I'm running for mayor 'cause I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance to work for you,"  he says into the camera in the 2-minute, slickly-shot reel.

The video goes on to show iconic scenes of the city and images of Mr. Weiner growing up in Brooklyn, and goes on to outline a platform that includes dropping fines for small businesses and more opportunities for the middle class.

He also gets an endorsement from his wife, Ms. Abedin, who revealed she was pregnant after the scandal broke. "We love this city and no one'll work harder to make it better than Anthony," she says, sitting next to her husband on the steps of his childhood home.

The announcement comes nearly two years to the day after Mr. Weiner destroyed his Congressional career by tweeting out a photo of his underwear-clad crotch that had been intended as a private message--and then repeatedly lying about it in interviews and at press conferences, claiming his account had been hacked. He eventually admitted to having inappropriate relationships with half a dozen women online, sending them lewd text messages and images.

At the time, the idea a comeback seemed incomprehensible.

But Mr. Weiner has been plotting one for months, beginning with a glossy New York Times profile, followed by a round of television interviews and a return to Twitter--where he has been touting proposals from a largely-recycled book of policy proposals.

Now, Mr. Weiner's entree has the power to turn the race on its head. While the scandal might give many voters pause, it also cemented Mr. Weiner's name recognition. And with more than $4 million in his campaign account, he'll be able to pack a punch.

Observers have been mixed about how Mr. Weiner will impact the field, but Public Advocate Bill de Blasio appears to have the most to lose. A long-time Brooklyn resident and fellow former councilman, Mr. Weiner is expected to appeal to the same outer-borough, ethnic whites and progressive voters who feel Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the race's early front-runner, has been too close to the current mayor.

A recent poll showed Mr. Weiner would enter the race in second place, behind only Ms. Quinn.

Update (2:13 a.m.):

It appears Mr. Weiner's campaign may have pulled the trigger earlier than intended. Shortly after the campaign's new "Weiner for Mayor" website went live, it reverted back to an older version of the site that had been up since Mr. Weiner's resignation. Then, just after 2 a.m., the mayoral version was restored.

Mr. Weiner did not respond to requests for comment on whether there had indeed been a mix-up, but sources told The Post the video wasn't supposed to be posted until later Wednesday.  The video remained available via YouTube.

Awkwafina. (Photo: YouTube)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's regulations against large soda cups in restaurants may have been blocked by the courts, but local hip-hop artist Awkwafina is putting him on notice anyway.

"Hey Mayor Mike Bloomberg, help me understand!" she declares in a video released today. "Our giant margaritas are going to get banned. Are going to get banned ... Please don't take my freedom, my giant margarita."

It's worth noting that the rules, if implemented, would not affect alcoholic beverages.

Watch below:

Awkwafina

"Nowhere to Go," a new ad, will hit the airwaves Wednesday. (ScreenGrab: YouTube)

Rivals of City Council Speaker and mayoral frontrunner Christine Quinn released their second attack ad Wednesday morning, this time slamming Ms. Quinn for failing to halt the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital.

The 30-second spot, courtesy of the new political committee New York City Is Not for Sale, begins with grainy images of an emergency room sign, a screaming ambulance and a gurney being rushed down a hospital hall.

“You don’t know when the next emergency is going to hit you or your family. Often the difference between life and death is measured in minutes, or even seconds,” says a narrator in an ominous voice.

Citing campaign contributions to Rudin Management Company, the ad accuses Ms. Quinn of turning her back on the hospital to help the developers out.

“After Christine Quinn took thousands of dollars from real estate developers who owned the property, she failed to keep St. Vincent’s open, leaving thousands of New Yorkers in need of medical care with nowhere to go,” it says, over video of a sad old woman with a cane sitting alone on a bench in the snow.

“When Christine Quinn allows the things that are most important to New Yorkers to disappear, how can you support her for mayor?” it asks.

New York Is Not for Sale launched earlier this month with the sole mission of insuring that “Anyone but Quinn” is elected mayor this fall.

The spot, which was produced by the Advance Group, is set to begin airing Wednesday on channels including NY1, Bravo and Oxygen as part of the group’s original $250,000 ad buy, a group spokeswoman said. They plan to spend $1 million over the course of the campaign.

Its founding members include the animal rights group New Yorkers for Clean Livable and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), Communications Workers of America union Local 1180 President Arthur Cheliotes and Wendy Neu, the CEO of Hugo Neu Corporation.

“The closing of St. Vincent’s hospital leaves a community out in the cold,” Mr. Cheliotes said in a statement. “Today’s new ad calls attention to a community where residents have nowhere to go in the event of an emergency or health crisis. Christine Quinn played an integral role in letting St. Vincent’s disappear and we cannot support a mayor who would let her donors dictate development at the sacrifice of our communities.”

Ms. Quinn was clearly ruffled by the group’s first ad, which painted her as a calculating politician willing to compromise her principles to get ahead. She called the ad a “disgrace” and her lawyers fired off a letter to Time Warner demanding they stop airing it, claiming that it included false statements, prompting ridicule from her rivals.

Update (12:40 p.m.): It turns out that there was an error in the ad. About 10 second in, writing on the screen claims that Quinn received $59,400 in campaign contributions from Rudin Management. But according to a spokesman for the New York City Campaign Finance Board, that's not the case.

Thanks to a quirk in the board's electronic database, some contributions given before term limits were extended happen to show up twice.

“Those contributions shouldn’t be counted twice," explained spokesman Matt Sollars. In fact, employees of the company have contributed $29,700 to Ms. Quinn's 2013 campaign, he said.

Kevin Finnegan, the political director of the powerful healthcare workers union, 1199 SEIU, also defended Quinn, saying there was nothing more she could have done to save the hospital from closing.

“Nobody fought harder to save St. Vincent's than Christine Quinn," he said. "I was in the middle of that fight from Day 1, and Chris Quinn was by my side the entire time, fighting much harder than anyone else. And to criticize her on that front is baseless. It’s absolutely baseless. It’s absurd.”

Update (1:31 p.m.): Quinn's campaign spokesman Mike Morey adds:

Watch the ad below:

Congressman Crowley (Photo: YouTube)

In a few months, Queens County's elected officials are gathering for a musical talent show of sorts. In a flier sent out to the borough's legislators, the show, a fundraiser for Queens College, is "seeking elected officials who can sing, act, dance, do comedy and are willing to share their talents in a musical comedy revue which celebrates our wonderful borough."

According to a source, two of the borough's most musical officials, Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley and GOP Councilman Dan Halloran, both seemed likely to attend. Mr. Crowley, of course, is a well-known music lover, from "Call Me Maybe" to little ditties in his fundraising solicitations. For his part, Mr. Halloran is a fairly talented alternative rock singer, as he thoroughly demonstrated at one of his own fundraisers.

However, somewhat ominously, the invitation told pols to participate, "[e]ven if you think you don’t have any talent."

For fun, we've collected some of the greatest hits of Mr. Crowley and Mr. Halloran, who, as it happens, were on opposing sides of the only notable congressional race this year in Queens. Perhaps a musical face-off will help settle their rivalry?

(13 minutes in)

(Photo: Getty)

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are facing off in their third and final debate tonight. The verbal contest, hosted by Bob Schieffer, will focus on foreign policy and provide a highly-anticipated back-and-forth as polls tighten and Election Day looms on the calendar, almost exactly two weeks away.

The debate will be divided into six segments, each of them fifteen minutes long:

* America’s role in the world
* Our longest war – Afghanistan and Pakistan
* Red Lines – Israel and Iran
* The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – I
* The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism – II
* The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World

Without further ado, you watch below:

(Photo: YouTube)

President Barack Obama's reelection campaign has officially gone there.

In an ad released this morning, Mr. Obama takes Republican rival Mitt Romney to task for wanting to take the ax to Sesame Street's federal funding in a rather sarcastic fashion.

"Criminals, gluttons of greed," the narrator stated after ticking off a  list of Wall Street crooks. "And the evil genius who towered over them? One man has the guts to speak his name."

After the "evil genius" is revealed, the narrator, whose dramatic voice would sound better placed in an action movie, continued, "Big, yellow, a menace to our economy. Mitt Romney knows it's not Wall Street you have to worry about, it's Sesame Street....Mitt Romney, taking on our enemies no matter where they nest."

As others have noted, the press release announcing the video did not include spending details, suggesting it's a YouTube-only affair for the moment.

Watch below:

Mitt Romney plays Jenga to prepare for the debate. (Photo: YouTube)

As you may have heard, there's an election going on.

To help voters decide between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the two candidates will go head-to-head in a debate tonight at the University of Denver, Colorado. The rhetorical contest will focus on domestic policy and be divided into six segments, the exact focus of which will be at the whim of moderator Jim Lehrer.

Without further ado, you can watch below:

Adam Cook (Photo: AdamCook2012.com)

Adam Cook, a Democrat who is running for the House seat in Virginia's first congressional district got some rather enthusiastic support on YouTube after his first campaign video was posted there today. The first comment added shortly after the video was posted was an especially colorful endorsement of the candidate:

"Adam Cook is the 'Dank Spank' going to dominate in Congress!"

The comment was made by Mr. Cook's younger brother, Simon. According to the only entry for the phrase in Urban Dictionary, which is the unquestioned authority on slang, "dank spank" means masturbating after smoking marijuana. "He's a young guy he's a college student now so I guess that was his support," Mr. Cook told The Politicker.

Before Mr. Cook gets his chance to "dominate in Congress," he will have to defeat Republican Congressman Rob Wittman, who has been serving in the district since 2007. The district has traditionally been a conservative stronghold, however John McCain won it by just three percent in 2008 compared to George W. Bush's more than 20 percent margin of victory in 2004. Democratic Senator Mark Warner also won the district in his 2008 Senate run. Mr. Cook has the endorsement of former Virginia governor Tim Kaine.

"It is like much of Northern Virginia trending in a more Democratic direction," Mr. Cook said. "It could be competitive."

Mr. Cook is an Afghanistan veteran and current member of the Air Force Reserves. He is suspending his campaign for two weeks starting next Monday because he is up for two weeks of active duty in Delaware.

View a screengrab of the younger Mr. Cook's comment and the full campaign video below.

A screengrab of Rick Perry's new ad.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has had it with people giving him the thumb's down on YouTube. After one of his recent campaign commercials became most "disliked" clip in the history of the site, like and dislike buttons are disabled on his latest offering.

Mr. Perry's commercial, entitled "Strong," unseated Rebecca Black's grating viral video sensation "Friday" as YouTube's most hated after amassing over 600,000 negative reactions on the site. The unpopular clip featured Mr. Perry vowing to end ”liberal attacks on our religious heritage" and "Obama’s war on religion.”

"There’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school," Mr. Perry said.

In his new commercial, "Politically Correct," Mr. Perry tries to capitalize on his reputation as a candidate who's unafraid to transmit unpopular messages by casting himself as "an outsider who will overhaul Washington and who will tell you the truth."

"Washington is the capitol of political  where doublespeak reigns and the truth is frowned upon," Mr. Perry says in the commercial.

Watch Mr. Perry's un-dislikeable new video below.