( CNN ) -- When the doors opened onto WABC 's New York studios after the televised Democratic mayoral debate Tuesday night , reporters rushed in to surround two people . The first was Public Advocate Bill de Blasio -- in first place , according to a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier in the day . But the larger crowd was surrounding Anthony Weiner , the former congressman who is polling in fourth place and who spent much of the night being ignored by his rivals . Weiner may have turned his once-promising campaign into a disaster with the recent fresh crop of sexting revelations , but he has not ceased being the star of the campaign , much to his rivals ' chagrin . Weiner is now reaching for a silver lining from the scandal that has cost him dearly in the polls and sealed off whatever long-shot chances he had at victory . He 's taking all the unflattering , pun-filled stories about him and saying `` that 's what it 's like to be mayor . '' He 's turning his unflattering press into evidence of his mettle . So , the more fights with the media , the more chances he has to say he 's independent , he 's fighting , he 's ready for City Hall . Last week , he mocked a British reporter 's accent during an impromptu interview outside a public housing building where he was campaigning . Their exchange ended with him giving an unsolicited weather report to viewers in Britain . ( `` It 's gon na be raining , cloudy and gray . So do what you can , guys , '' he said . ) While being mayor of New York is indeed akin to being in the eye of a media storm , what 's happening to candidate Weiner is different . Opinion : Hey Weiner , New York does n't like to look stupid . He omitted a key detail in the redemption story that he brought to the race : Weiner continued sexting after resigning from Congress and tearfully telling the public how much pain it had caused his wife and those close to him . That is what is at the heart of the criticism . It 's not the newness of the details but rather the newness of the facts . But for a candidate who is less than a month away from the primary , there is little to do but continue . He has a reputation to salvage , issues to push and campaign money to spend . So , given the circumstances , the bad-news-is-proof-I'm-ready argument may be Weiner 's only argument . And so , in a live interview with BuzzFeed Editor Ben Smith on Monday , Weiner fielded questions about his sexting scandal and the role his wife may play in an expected Hillary Clinton presidential campaign , and he accused the New York Times of `` never '' liking him , because of his independence . ( In 2008 , after an unflattering story about his frequent staff changes , Weiner told me the Times had become `` tabloidy . '' ) Hours before Tuesday 's debate , Weiner 's campaign released a video showing the candidate happily announcing that he does n't care what the New York Post or Daily News say about him , because he 's so independent from them . When Weiner launched his campaign in late April , it was viewed largely as an effort to rehabilitate his image after his 2011 scandal and resignation from Congress . Nobody wants the last words on this career to be `` sex scandal , '' `` resignation '' or `` disgrace . '' But Weiner has lost ground since his scandal resurfaced ; just last month , polls had him leading the Democratic field . Opinion : Will 'sexters ' give Weiner a pass ? On Tuesday night , Weiner tried painting the rivals on stage with him as all coming from the same political establishment that has long governed New York . About halfway through the debate , Weiner said , `` My fellow New Yorkers , this is the problem , '' referring to his rivals , who had just been arguing with one another on stage . `` You know they all come from basically the same place ; they 've been part of municipal government for decades now . They 've all been part of it : a comptroller , a former comptroller , a public advocate , a speaker . They 're from the same place . '' He told viewers that if they wanted someone to `` stop this noise , '' he was their candidate . `` Not for nothing , '' countered City Council Speaker Christine Quinn , `` you were in government your whole career until you had to resign from government , so I 'm not sure why you 're finger-pointing at people in government . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Azi Paybarah .
Azi Paybarah : « He says Weiner slamming press , using media criticism to show he 's ready to be NY mayor . He says media criticism is n't over old details of sexting but new revelations Weiner kept doing it . Paybarah : With primary looming , painting himself as independent may be his best shot .