( CNN ) -- Will New Yorkers elect a punchline as mayor ? Anthony Weiner 's entry into the New York City race for mayor was one of the issues we discussed with comedian Jim Gaffigan , our guest this week on the CNN weekly podcast `` The Big Three , '' co-hosted by CNN 's Margaret Hoover , John Avlon and myself . Jim , who many know from his Comedy Central specials and his numerous appearances on `` The Late Show With David Letterman '' and `` Conan , '' also talked with us about his new book `` Dad Is Fat '' ( No . 5 on The New York Times ' Best Sellers List ) , in which he writes about the adventures of raising five young children with his wife in a midsized New York City apartment . Jim offered some very funny yet helpful advice to my co-hosts , who are married to each other and expecting their first child this summer . Jim offered particularly instructive guidance for how Margaret and John can cope with their expected son 's most traumatizing day : His circumcision . But back to Anthony Weiner : For those of you who missed it , in 2011 the former congressman texted pictures of his private parts to women , lied about it , had to resign . We all agreed his mayoral bid ca n't simply be dismissed as a joke . In fact , a new poll has him in second place in the mayoral race , and he has close to $ 4 million in his campaign chest . Weiner might just win this race -- assuming he has figured out the proper way to use Twitter . In the podcast , we also tackled two other issues that sparked heated discussions and had unexpected results . The first was political hypocrisy in the response to the Oklahoma tornado . Certainly all elected officials expressed their condolences and support for the people who suffered as a result of this devastating natural disaster . But we saw some Republican members of Congress from Oklahoma -- most notably Sen. James Inhofe -- now supporting federal disaster relief for the people of their state . But these same people opposed supporting federal aid for the victims of Superstorm Sandy , which hit in October . This was n't lost on a fellow Republican , Rep. Peter King of New York . He called them out -- and caused me , probably for the first time in my life , to agree with something King said . Our biggest debate on this issue , though , was over the role the federal government should play in helping people after a natural disaster . Margaret said federal government should n't be the primary source of funding for these people , arguing that instead the government can be a facilitator , seeking and encouraging private funds and donations to provide assistance . In contrast , I strongly believe that the federal government should be leading and funding the relief effort so that people in need are helped as quickly as possible . Our third big issue was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg 's comment this week that if you were n't at the top of your class in high school , you should n't waste the money and time on college and instead you should become `` a plumber . '' As John noted , this sentiment echoed a 2012 statement by former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum , who mocked President Barack Obama as being a `` snob '' for saying he wanted everyone to go to college . Instead , Santorum believed that some should forget college and instead pursue jobs that require using your hands . While we all agreed that the costs of a college education now border on the obscene , we did not agree on what was causing the hike in tuition prices . But there was no dispute that anyone who dreams of going to college and has graduated high school should have the opportunity to pursue higher education . A college education not only increases a person 's knowledge , it results in more employment opportunities and better wages . In fact , people with less than a high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 12.4 % . In contrast , the unemployment rate of those with a four-year college degree is only 4.5 % , well below the national unemployment rate of 7.5 % . We hope you check out this week 's episode of `` The Big Three . '' We would love to hear your thoughts on the podcast and the issues we raised . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah .
CNN Radio podcast features CNN Opinion contributors on top three stories . Dean Obeidallah : Guest Jim Gaffigan offers parenting advice to Hoover , Avlon , parents-to-be . They discuss Oklahoma Congressmen 's hypocrisy in accepting tornado aid . They take on Bloomberg 's comment that plumbing might be better for some than college .