The Fallen Emperor of New York

Disgraced New York governor Eliot Spitzer, in his brief statement before the media yesterday, said that politics was "about big ideas." I'm sure his enemies in Albany's Republican-controlled State Senate, Joseph Bruno for one, agreed. In the wake of the revelations linking Spitzer to a prostitution ring, they likely had some big ideas of their own -- starting with champagne and caviar for lunch.

Or maybe, like the rest of us, they were left pinching themselves to make sure this was truly happening. While scandals and politicians are familiar bedfellows, two things about this latest uncovering of executive id on the public stage remain incredibly surprising.

First is the jaw-dropping tawdriness of the details.

The New York Times reported having learned, from wiretapped conversations with Kristen, the prostitute Spitzer transported from New York to DC, that Spitzer was reputed within the Emperor Club to be "difficult," that he often wanted to do things that "you, like, might not think were safe," in the words of the booker who set him up with Kristen. And so, as we're left to imagine the most grotesque perversion $5,500 can buy, apologists will be precious few among us. No cries of mercy for the "only human" former Sheriff of Wall Street, and certainly none from his friend George Fox. Spitzer used Fox's name when booking his sessions with the Emperor's Club.

But the second and, from a public interest standpoint, far less forgivable aspect of this extraordinary, hubristic fall is the negligence. Mr. Spitzer should know there are ways to do this sort of thing; if he doesn't know them, he should go to France. Or spend more time in Washington. And if he really needs an encyclopedia of ways NOT to get lazy while defrauding the public trust, he ought to take a look at the brilliant work of the masters of the universe he helped bring down as attorney general.

This is, after all, an executive who used the New York State Police to keep tabs on Bruno, a minor nemesis who Spitzer believed was using his police escort as a limousine service. Maybe Spitzer just figured no one knew more about offshore accounts, about hiding the red flags, about how and how not to cover one's tracks, than Spitzer.

I guess he forgot about the IRS.

Now it seems certain the governor will resign, leaving those of us who believed in the promise offered by his rough-around-the-edges, refreshingly politically ignorant, Ahabish pursuit of the bad guys wondering how such a pillar of integrity was concealing -- poorly -- a pile of dirty laundry more rank, if less monumental, than that of Rudy Giuliani. Ironically, Spitzer was felled by his own indiscretion -- not by Bruno, not by a private detective hired by a vengeful Wall Street firm, and not by any of the numerous, determined enemies he has made since 1998. But that doesn't mean they'll enjoy his demise any less.

Comments

[BobLamm]

I admire many things that Eliot Spitzer did as Attorney General. But your post fails to note something about this "pillar of integrity" that is probably far worse than the scandal that led to his resignation. I feel certain that Spitzer was personally and deeply involved in the misuse of his office to hound and try to destroy the Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, Joseph Bruno. This is no defense of Bruno, another slimeball who probably belongs in jail. But how could anyone who's followed Spitzer's career believe that his aides were after Bruno in the ways they were without Spitzer's knowledge? Note that Spitzer kept slithering out of making a statement under oath about all this. If the Albany district attorney or Albany legislators had forced the issue and adequately pressured Spitzer's current and former aides, Spitzer might have ended up resigning not over the prostitution scandal but over the Bruno scandal.

[Dannydel]

And in Europe, millions of people are re-reading this story, looking for what it was that Spitzer resigned over. "Having SEX?! What the ....?...those yanks are bloody LAME I tell ya"!!!

[Tankan]

Don't be too hard on Mr Spitzer!

Now many "respectable" men have not been been caught?

Yet!

[hhkeller]

Intimacy usually suffers during long marriages.
Spitzer needs more nuggies at home.
Tantra Yoga for couples might be helpful too.
I really dont think there's a big problem.

[ctom]

What's the issue here? The governor got caught but so what? Bill got caught and worse, committed perjury to cover it up but he remained. In this case, it's more kosher since: a) he did take it out of state instead of doing it below his wife's bedroom; b) did fess up immediately instead of calling a press conference to deny it until a certain Gap blue dress showed: c) actually paid the girl instead of villifying the person on national TV. In comparison he is nothing compared to Slick Willy.

Ok, ok, he broke the law for buying sex but isn't this better than having a mistress? At least, this is honest. He only wanted the sex and did not care to replace the wife. Then again, what is a mistress if not a long-term contract for a hooker by any other name? Rudy had a mistress, So did Newt. Foley and Clinton had their interns (which is a cheap version of buying sex). Even the great JFK had his flings, although I must complement him in having much, much better criteria for his.

End of day, when do men not buy sex? Cars, jewelry, trips, furs, etc. that's just bartering instead of cash payment. The only bad thing is that cash payment is illegal and bartering, we call that "dating."

In conclusion, Move-On

[JBS]

One issue is Spitzer's stupidity has already begun to undo the good results he obtained prosecuting Wall Street predators.