Here's one thing I'll never understand: Why do such smart men do such dumb things?
Or maybe we should ask: Why don't smart men use their brain instead of some other part of their anatomy?
It's a bipartisan malady. Mark Foley and Larry Craig. Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. And now, Eliot Spitzer -- caught by a federal sting operation in the middle of a high-class prostitution ring.
Ironically, Spitzer was trapped in a classic Spitzer-type investigation. As Attorney General of New York, he was a relentless, moral crusader. Busting up crooked dealers on Wall Street. Fighting big insurance companies. And, yes, tracking down and exposing prostitution networks aimed at the big business and tourist trade.
How dumb can he be? He set the trap -- and then walked right into it himself.
As a prosecutor, as a husband, as a father, he should have known better. As a governor, he must pay the price.
There is no way that Spitzer can continue as Governor of New York. He has betrayed the public trust. He has violated the one rule we expect of every public official: that he or she who makes or enforces the law must also obey it.
Yesterday, people were talking about Eliot Spitzer as the next president from New York state. Today, he's history.
Why do such smart men do such dumb things?
First off, Americans have to stop setting up actors, athletes, and politicians as role models.
Neither political party has the slightest thing to do with "family values." I don't see many churches that do either. Money and power are behind politics, not virtue.
In Europe, there is more of a recognition of reality in this regard. They remember recent history so that politicians are not set up as false idols anymore.
larry craig gets the "page 37 in small print near the bottom" treatment and now spitzer is getting "24/7 headline will he resign?" coverage
time to wake up america and stop allowing CNN to do your dreaming for you
Lets investigate some real crime. Illegal war, 911, illegal wire tapping, lies the bush administration has told. etc etc..... this is just another sex case to distract from the real goings on.
That doesn't seem to apply to bushie and his cabal, so why should it be true of anyone else?
We punish SEX but don't punish CORRUPTION.
What are WE AMERICANS thinking?
We PUNISH SEX but DON'T PUNISH CORRUPTION.
WhY are we punishing, SEX? How stupid are we?
How can we be led by the nose by Republican panty sniffing manipulators who are IN CHARGE OF FBI, CIA WIRE TAPPING and sniffing your garbage and underwear?
How about THAT?
Why should our tax money pay for Republican bullsh*t like THAT?
WHY should Spitzer resign for sex?
Why don't Republicans RESIGN FOR CORRUPTION?
What about Republicans like Bush-Cheney & Company who LIED, started a FRAUDULENT FOR-PROFITS Iraq War, REPUBLICANS SCREWED middle-income Americans with HUGE TAX BILLS FOR DEFICIT,
& GIANT BILLS from PROFITEERING BIG OIL pals in their fake "oil shortage" that exists ONLY ON PAPER. They screwed middle-income Americans.
Why don't those Republican CORRUPTORS RESIGN?
What are we punishing here-- SEX? That is insane. How stupid are we?
WHEN WILL WE PUNISH CORRUPTION, INSTEAD?
We don't hold the President or Attorney general to this standard. Seriously. Why start w/ Spitzer?
Powerful men in business and politics pay for sex. They do it all over the world, including the US.
Men of power by their own evolutionary nature are not meant to be monogamous.
Monogamy is a religious and social construct that goes against human nature.
The sex lives of consenting adults really is nobody's business but their own.
And the media's and public's voyeuristic fascination with sex scandals says more about their twisted minds than the people who are committing the act.
And what's this ritual of trotting out the injured wife when they *do* get nailed? My wife would hand me my balls on a platter.
We entrust these folks with power not available to every person. Behaviour that clearly indicates that they do not understand the law or feel that it applies to them is a certain indication that that trust was misplaced.
It is tragic that so many such public figures have spent lifetimes developing the necessary connections, improving and advertising their reputations, and sucessfully achieving some of the pinnacles of public responsibility made available by a life of notable public service; only to throw all that effort away for something so arrogant, idiotic, and purile. Is it really that difficult to live such a life without breaking the damned law? Very disappointing.
We thought we might have a candidate that could offer us a tiny bit of that, but leave it to a Clinton to tear him down too.
We just hope we survive these days. Maybe one day for the sake of our children and grandchildren, there might be a new wave of leaders that actually give a damn about someone other than themselves.