It wasn't yesterday's contrived, meaningless apology that was the worst. No, that was expected. Nor was it the sight of Silda Spitzer standing there with her husband, dragged into the appearance and forced to face the cameras stoically, when she'd clearly rather be at home, downing Ambien with merlot and picking out the furniture she'll keep.
It wasn't the betrayal of moral, family values (Spitzer's a Democrat after all), or the hypocrisy of a man who once eagerly prosecuted pimps (even as the word "pimp" became a verb used by soccer moms). It wasn't even the fact that he slept around, with a hooker no less, which seems to be a prerequisite for politics not just in America, but around the world.
No, the true outrage, and the one that should ultimately drive Eliot Spitzer from Albany was the price he paid for the companionship of "Kristen," the petite brunette lady of the night who accompanied Gov. Spitzer that night at the Mayflower Hotel, and apparently other nights previous to that. For a man who built his career not only on prosecutions of corporate criminals, but on promises of fiscal responsibility and the need to curb the flagrant excess of Wall Street's spending, tossing down up to $4300 on the pleasures of the flesh seemed an appropriate way to spend his taxpayer earned dollars.
Let's take into account that Gov. Spitzer draws an annual salary of just $179,000 a year, and though his living costs are covered, he still has a family and a taste for nice suits. Yes, he has personal money as well, but as one of the few governors who draws a salary, much of that still comes from public coffers.
Emperor's Club ranked their ladies on a diamond scale, with more diamonds costing...well, more diamonds. It can be certain that as Gov. Spitzer shtupped his way through the catalogue, he hit upon the higher end of the pay scale. On the now defunct website (saved here by Huff Po), girls are listed as ranging from $1,000 to $3,100 an hour, and $10,000 to $31,000 per day. Without analyzing Gov. Spitzer's bedroom endurance, a man of his appetites, in possession of Pfizer's finest blue pill, could easily go into overtime and rack up the bills. Plus, I'm certain these weren't all inclusive packages. Hookers are like hotel mini-bars. Nothing's for free.
Now, assuming he was getting some sort of preferred rate at the Emperor's Club, and gaining the services of "Kristen" and other escorts on a regular basis, that'll eat into the discretionary spending pretty quickly. Tack onto that the $200 per night (and up) room rate at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, maybe $70 in champagne, $80 in room service, $30 for in-room porno, and you have quite an expensive night. I assume he also paid for "Kristen's" Amtrak ticket from New York to D.C., which is the heart of the crime, but also another couple hundred tossed onto the tab...and I doubt her commoditized ass traveled economy.
Most of the time, it appears that Spitzer indulged in these carnal pleasures in New York City, which would have easily doubled the above costs, minus the travel. Undoubtedly there were gifts, costumes (perhaps he dressed as Conrad Black and took a good flogging), and designer sex toys. He appears to have been familiar with the ladies of Emperor's Club, so much so that he was confused about what girl the service was sending. So that shows a frequency level, which means multiples of dates.
Add it all together and you get tens of thousands of dollars (if not more), of taxpayer funds spent recklessly with very little trickle down effects for the local economy (butt plugs are largely Chinese made). All this while the good Governor had it for free at home. Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but all his affair with Monica Lewinsky cost the country was a cigar and a dry cleaning bill. Spitzer's folly is so atrocious because he spent like a crooked hedge fund manager on a white truffle binge. He not only betrayed the confidence and trust of New Yorkers, but he pumped away their hard earned tax dollars on the oldest economic commodity known to man (one with no returns on investment), and indulged like the very creatures of corporate excess he so publicly reviled. It might be kosher for Jack Nicholson or Charlie Sheen to shill that much for sex, but for a public servant, it's simply fiscally irresponsible.