Eliot's Choice

We do not yet know how the Spitzer story will end. But we do know already that this is not just another politician caught in a sex scandal.

Governor Spitzer came to office with a promise to hold Albany, Wall Street and New Yorkers in general to a higher standard. In an age of mistrust of institutions, Eliot was to be a role model. He promised to bring honor back to government and to hold politicians and corporate executives accountable for their actions. Even cynical New Yorkers wanted to believe, electing him with more than 70% of the vote in 2006.

We can't fault Eliot for being human. And what he does with his $4,000 can be his own business.

We can, however, ask him to make a choice. He can hold himself to the standards he has set for others and resign. Or he can lower those standards in a way that will leave him in office and further erode the trust the public has in our government.

Unfortunately his short and vague apology yesterday suggests that Eliot may be crafting a strategy to let him continue as governor, despite his misdeeds.

"I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good and doing what is best for the State of New York."

If politics isn't about individuals, why can't Eliot continue to be the bulldozer he once claimed to be? Why can't he continue to do what is best for New York? According to Spitzer, this is a "private matter" and one, he could argue, which should not affect his public life.

Take a close look at his apology. He clearly apologizes to his family. He clearly acknowledges that he is disappointed in himself and that he has disappointed the public for not living up to his potential. But nowhere does he acknowledge what he actually did. Nor does he say his misdeeds amount to a failure to uphold the standards of his office or live up to the standards to which he has held others during his tenure as Attorney General.

"I have acted in a way that violated the obligations to my family and that violates my -- or any -- sense of right and wrong, I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public whom I promised better... But I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard that I expect of myself."

Spitzer wouldn't be the first politician to argue that the rules shouldn't apply to him. But in this case, his choice matters more than most. In a 2006 ad, Spitzer said he never asked if a case was popular or unpopular, only "if it was right or wrong." He was elected for his principles. He should resign for them as well.

Comments

[StephenSmoliar]

"... further erode the trust the public has in our government." WHAT public has EVER had trust in ANY governmental institution? "We the public" know so little about what those institutions actually do that we should know better than to trust them; and we don't! Instead, we resort to "outsourcing" to hold those institutions accountable for their actions. Some of that outsourcing is handled by other governmental institutions; but, as Plato pointed out, this has its own problems. ("Who shall guard the guardians?") Thus, we have other agencies, such as institutions of journalism, that see to accountability in their own way. They, too, have their flaws; but the whole system is not a single chain that is only as strong as its weakest link. It's a whole bunch of little chains, all pulling in roughly the same direction; and, if a few of them turn out to be defective, the others can take up the slack. No, we know better than to trust our government; and we have the support of social institutions of our own making. So I am more interested in whether or not (and how) Spitzer will own up to his foibles than I am in whether or not that will "further erode the trust the public has in our government!"

[Cathexis]

I don't know ... personally, I'm tired of casting our own on ethical funeral pyres for (relatively) small offenses while they braying Vitters and Craigs and company forge on, skins thickened.

I'm tired of treating "sex" as a crime, much less as something worse than corruption, fraud, greed, social injustice, etc.

Why is a "corruption fighter" expected to resign when a jack@$$ who started two wars remains in the highest office? Why do we submissively mount our petards when they remain brazenly insisting they have done no wrong, despite mountains of evidence?

Sorry ... I just can't gin up any outrage at Spitzer. His failing is a personal one, which he and his family need to deal with. It doesn't affect his utility in office, IMO. I refuse to get in the crowd heating up the tar and gathering feathers.

[speakyourmind]

Hmmmm now let me think....."restoring honor" to office.....now who else said that.......?

[darker]

Americans 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?
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?

[Cathexis]

darker ... I hear myself talking,but don't feel my lips moving! ;-D

[Donkslayer]

A governor supporting an illegal prostitution ring is an act of corruption.