So New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer had sex with a prostitute. Yes, Mrs. Spitzer should brain him with an iron skillet, kick his philandering ass out of the house, divorce him … and that’s just for starters. But, as someone who favors decriminalizing and even legalizing sex-for-pay, let’s not get distracted by who”Client #9″ paid to do the nasty, how many times and with whom. Heck, by the time you read this, Spitzer’s political career could be history.
What makes this a story is that, after years of being the white knight of Wall Street, Spitzer has become Gov. Humpty Dumpty, and you know what happened after Mr. Dumpty’s great fall (off of a wall, no less). Spitzer was also pursuing a vendetta against his chief political adversary, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, whom Spitzer was hounding over travel expenses — a Kenneth Starr/Newt Gingrich-worthy tactic. (A federal probe of Bruno is another matter entirely.)
The more you set yourself up as Mr. Ivory Soap, 99 44/100% pure, the louder the “Splat!” you will make when you hit the pavement. Imagine if this prostitution scandal had involved a certain ex-Pres. Bill Clinton. Let’s face it: A lot of Americans would shrug their shoulders and say, “That’s ol’ Bubba for you. There he goes again. Poor Hillary.” Or some variant thereon.
Spitzer set himself up as someone who was better than that (maybe even better than us) and it’s by his own, self-imposed (or -proclaimed) standards that he will be judged. Or, as our own David Matthews says, considerably more pithily, “Ethics my ass.”
“Rumble, young man, rumble.” That’s all I’m going to say.
(Full disclosure: I’ve donated $160 to date.)
Nevada Palace, R.I.P.: Enjoy this appraisal while you still can. Cheapo Vegas is going to retire it soon.
