He really shouldn't resign. I voted for him and I'm not sure how whether or not he's ever paid for sex impacts on his ability to govern. He should really stick this out.

I think it give Guiliani a chance to resurrect his career.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/governor-guliani.php

Mr. Spitzer gained national attention when he served as attorney general with his relentless pursuit of Wall Street wrongdoing. As attorney general, he also had prosecuted at least two prostitution rings as head of the state’s organized crime task force.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

How very disappointing.

He's going to resign. He must resign. He's got too much other scandal baggage going on from earlier in his term not to resign over this.

He should resign, then start a second career advocating for the legalization of victimless crimes.

We should pull prostitution and recreational drugs from the shadows, where organized crime can run them, into the daylight of regulation.

Once again we discover how politicians should not pretend to be or try to sell themselves as paragons of virtue.

The Bush gang wants retroactive immunity for themselves and for the Telecoms. The reason they want this immunity is because, apart from 'terrorists', they were spying on their political enemies, the Democrats.

Remember the Bush official who said:'if this ever gets out...'?

Remember what Deputy AG James Comey said about top Justice Dept officials threatening to resign
over a "classified program" the Bush gang wanted legalized?

Spitzer got caught on a wire tap by the FBI, but I think the Bush gang found out about Spitzer before the FBI did when they were illegally spying on Americans (Democrats)

This is a shot across the bow of Democrats who are fighting retroactive immunity.

Oh, by the way, the sharks on Wall Street and the boys in the Corporate Board Rooms who Spitzer prosecuted are jumping with joy.

What would they say about this in France?
Same as Clinton and Monica--a shrug and 'c'est la vie.'

My take? At least it was a woman;>

I have no words, do you?

Just one: "plastics".

Seriously, this is just the latest example of a bunch of New York-based media types and bloggers gone all a-flutter over the overrated travails of some local favorite son.

Look at what these four figures have in common:

Hillary Clinton: Junior Senator from New York and reigning Empress of Westchester County, once thereby thought the inevitable Democratic nominee for President. Now looking quite evitable.

Rudolph Giuliani: Former NYC mayor once designated "the nation's mayor" due to exaggerated 9/11 hype and the usual media Gotham-centrism. Skipped several primaries under the theory that he could coast to the White House on the strength of the Gotham vote in the Florida and New York primaries. Now recuperating in oblivion.

Michael Bloomberg: Another NYC mayor and local Wall Street hero who teased his five boroughs for weeks with the notion that he would mount an independent run for President, apparently sharing the impression with his provincial fan club that a nation turns its lonely eyes to ... um ... Michael Bloomberg. The new Icarus Bloomberg falls with a barely audible "plop" into the Hudson, in the background of national consciousness like in the Bosch painting, as the rest of the nation says "Michael who?" and goes about its business.

Eliot Spitzer: Little-known New York Governor, apparently elected in 2006 with little notice beyond his home state. His main claim to fame is that he probably had the best college board scores of any politician in US history, a quirky fact that curiously doesn't seem to have attracted the attention of the 99.6% of Americans with lower board scores. On March 10, 2008, the vast majority of Americans who live outside New York simultaneously learn (i) who Spitzer is, and (ii) why they probably don't have to care anymore who he is.

The story here, much like the McCain/Iseman story, is not about sex. It's about the hypocrisy.

Personally, I really don't care about what consenting adults do in their personal lives. I didn't care about Clinton and Lewinsky. At least not because of the sex. The fact is, Clinton's actions had a cost that the nation paid. This is a fact of being in a position of leadership. The fact is that the citizens of New York will now have to pay the price for this man's actions.

I won't stand over anyone and admonish them over the intimate details of their personal relationships any more than I would stand for someone doing that to me. It is the hypocrisy and the failure of leadership that are truly disappointing here.

Executive Branch Accountability


Since Elliot had his hand in the cookie jar (har har), I'm glad he got caught.

And since we aren't Bushies, we aren't going to try to sweep our dirty laundry under the rug. I applaud the proper functioning of government, where open records and honest audits will find that a few thousand dollars have been transferred from government accounts to a shell company. . . . for PROSTITUTES.

Imagine what we might find if we dug through a couple billion misplaced by the Administration?

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/executive-branch-accountabilit.php

The bad news is that Spitzer's career as Democratic Governor of New York is over.

The good news is that he's now eligable to run for a Louisiana Senate seat as a Republican...

"I have no words, do you?"

How about - stupid arrogant hypocrite?

Will this episode generate sympathy for Hillary as a result of memories of Bill and Monica?

Will folks start thinking that maybe if we have a woman as Chief Exec. we won't have to worry about this again in the W.H.?

Marginal effects at least?

Let's have just a TINY bit of coherence and consistency. And just a LITTLE bit of attention to the things that actually matter to the governance of the country.

I don't really want to be dragged into the sex lives of public figures (or really, anyone else having consensual sex with another adult). I don't care whether the sex is straight, gay, 'adulterous,' etc. It's just not other people's business.

I think the witch hunt of Gary Hart (dating myself here) was stupid, and that the whole business with Bill Clinton was beyond stupid. I also think that Vitter and Craig are jerks, and evidently Spitzer has some major disconnects. But so what? What do their sexual 'indiscretions' have to do with anything?

And why is it that these things are more important to the electorate than political corruption, overt lying, influence peddling, and failure to uphold the Constitution?

Finally, there is the blatant double standard: Why do the Republicans get away with being SHOCKED, I say SHOCKED about Spitzer--and calling for his impeachment if he does not resign--while shrugging off the conduct of Vitter and Craig?

The New York Republican leadership did NOT say:

"Impeachment is OFF the table."