Slate in 2003 took on a new columnist to cover the Martha Stewart trial. The writer, Henry Blodget, was already fairly well known as a Wall Street analyst and a cheerleader for the dot-com boom. Most famously, Blodget predicted in 1998 that Amazon, then a brand-new public company, would hit $400 within a year, which it did.

By the time Blodget moved on to Slate, his image on Wall Street was tarnished thanks to a probe by then-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The investigation revealed that Blodget had publicly talked up stocks that he had privately disparaged in emails. In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Blodget with civil securities fraud. He settled for $4 million and agreed to a lifetime ban from the securities industry.

Over time, Blodget, Spitzer and Stewart would all appear to disprove the oft-misunderstood F. Scott Fitzgerald line that there are no second acts in American lives. Now, Blodget and his successful Business Insider has taken on a columnist who's also in need of image rehab: Anthony Weiner.

The scandal-tinged Weiner, who has been largely out of the public spotlight after losing the New York City mayoral election last November, emerged this week with a column with the sprightly name "Weiner!" on Blodget's Business Insider. Weiner's byline popped up a few weeks after another of his columns graced The New York Daily News. Going forward, Weiner's Daily News columns will tackle New York City issues — the first column took aim at Mayor Bill DeBlasio — while the BI column will be national in scope.

Those expecting a train wreck on either will be disappointed. The first Weiner! showed a surprising empathy for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (also a guy in need of an image overhaul) with regard to Tesla. Weiner argues, as others have, that Tesla may be a cool company, but that doesn't mean it can rewrite the state's laws: "Tesla's CEO Elon Musk may argue that his product is so revolutionary it warrants special treatment, but it's still just a car," writes Weiner.

Whatever the column's merits, the response so far has been a sea of ad hominem attacks. However, it did lead to a discussion with Fab CEO Jason Goldberg about the type of exceptionalism that Weiner claims Tesla and other tech firms elicit:

.@anthonyweiner "bitching" about arcane laws, to extend more choices & benefits to consumers, will put pressure on lawmakers to change.

— Jason Goldberg (@betashop) March 28, 2014

.@anthonyweiner when millions want their @uber @TeslaMotors @Airbnb politicians will respond. Can't get in way of right side of progress.

— Jason Goldberg (@betashop) March 28, 2014

For Weiner, that exchange should be encouraging; changing the subject from yourself is a good move from a PR perspective. Readers may not be able to get over the idea of Weiner writing a column at this point, but after a dozen so columns, they will and they'll start addressing the content of Weiner's arguments rather than the man himself.

That's the plan at least. It worked great for Blodget. For Spitzer, not so much. Spitzer also followed the same playbook with a Slate column and later a short-lived show on CNN. However, after a failed run for New York City Comptroller and a pending divorce, Spitzer hasn't had the same success in turning the page.

For every Spitzer, though, there's a Michael Milken. Milken, the junk bond king of the '80s, served two years in prison after pleading guilty to six criminal charges related to securities transactions. However, today he's best known as a philanthropist and backer of the Milken Institute, a public policy think tank.

"As long as you show that you repent somehow and make peace with yourself, America will give you a second chance," says Gene Grabowski, EVP at crisis pr firm Levick.

While Blodget is known to be unfailingly affable, though, as the exchange with Goldberg shows, Weiner's not on a charm offensive. To quote a realty show cliché, he's not here to make friends. In an email, Weiner said he wasn't influenced by Blodget ("I never read his [column]") and has no desire to change his image. At the moment, Weiner says he has no list of topics or axes to grind. It's just a column, he says.

By early indications, it could be a fun one. Over time, it could also undo some damage to Weiner's image, too.

"If nothing else right now, people are probably saying to themselves 'This guy's got spunk,'" says Grabowski. "You've got to at some level be impressed with it."

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.