On any given night, the Democrat from Queens, New York, can be seen sparring with Republicans on cable TV. Weiner can yell, interrupt and verbally joust with the best of them. On shows, he smiles directly into the camera and, even in a roundtable discussion, looks straight into the lens. He’s also funny and makes for great—if somewhat irreverent—television. In one widely reported appearance on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News, he faced off with Tea Party darling Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) about raising the debt ceiling. “All the surplus in Social Security is a big vault stuffed with IOU notes,” she said. “There’s not one dime sitting in there.” He responded without missing a beat: “Are you surprised to learn, Congresswoman Bachmann,” that “we don’t have a room filled with dimes?”

Indeed, Weiner is filling what some onlookers say is a gaping hole in the Democratic Party. Republicans have their fair share of talking heads and headline-grabbing gurus, ranging from personalities such as Rush Limbaugh to Sarah Palin, but few Democrats today have the kind of pizzazz that holds audiences in rapt attention. “He’s very telegenic and he gives great sound bites,” says one ABC News producer. “Everyone wants him on their show.”

Love him! It’s not that I love all his politics. I just love his chutzpah, his ‘ness. Its as close as you can come to having John Stewart in office.