Eliot Spitzer should not resign. A pretty simple statement, but took my about 24 hours to come to that conclusion. Like many, as soon as I heard the news, I thought it was over. I thought he should step down and allow NY to move on without him. But after careful thought and consideration, I've decided he owes it to us who live in New York to stay.
New York is a complicated state and incredibly difficult to run. Leaving so early into his term would throw the state into chaos and only make things worse for the millions of New Yorkers that count on a efficient and well run state government. For all of the stuff the Republicans have thrown at Spitzer, the one thing he hasn't gotten enough credit for is how much better the government is running since he's taken over. Sure, politically he's made some mistakes, but in terms of the administration he's put together, it's really a top notch operation. One compromise might be for Gov. Spitzer to announce they he will not be running for reelection. He will fulfill his term as governor and then step down. In that scenario, there could be a seamless transition that would allow for a new administration to ease its way in. If he stays, it will be nasty and the Republicans will use it as a distraction, but I believe most New Yorkers will quickly move on and demand that that state get back to doing the people's work.
When you think about it, when you see college athletes with scholarships at tony insititutions like USC and Harvard, or profesional athletes earning eight-figure salaries as free agents, or celebrities hawking consumer goods on television, doesn't all that and more entail a certain kind of prostitution?
To quote Maureen Dowd, "Flesh peddling is flesh peddling, be it on the street or in the suite."
I guess you could justify just about anything with that logic.