Gov. Spitzer, You Naughty, Naughty Boy!

Wow.

It was a pretty dull news day until a couple of hours ago (I'm writing around 3:30 EST on Tues. March 10)--when the NY Times reported that NY Governor Eliot Spitzer had been linked as a "client" to a "high-end prostitution ring."

(And, NY Times--I take back all my previous nasty remarks about you.)

Wha-wha-wee-wha! Talk about a "bombshell"!

Spitzer just confirmed his "involvement" in a thirty-second press conference about a half-hour ago, using maddeningly vague language.

But he didn't say he was resigning, just that he "needed to spend time with his family."

What next?

First it was New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey admitting he was a "Gay American" and then resigning-- or, as The Onion put it in one of its best headlines, "Tearful homosexual admits to being governor of New Jersey").

Now this.

Makes me wonder what might be going on in Connecticut.

So should Spitzer resign?

After all, Bubba Clinton didn't resign after it was revealed that he was getting his Executive Branch watered by Monica Lewinsky. And some other high-ranking pols have survived similar scandals recently.

I seem to recall that a few years ago, a Louisiana senator got caught with his pants down in a whorehouse, but it kind of blew over (pun intended) when the madam came forward and told the press that not only was the senator a valued client, but also a perfect gentleman who was very popular with the gals.

Of course, we're talking Louisiana here, where the voters practically expect such shenanigans from their elected representatives.

Not that the New York State government isn't universally acknowledged as an Augean Stable of personal and political corruption.

But up North, we expect our pols to be a bit more discrete.

And Spitzer sold himself to New York voters as a squeaky-clean Savonarola who'd made his reputation (like Tom Dewey and Rudy Giuliani before him) as Attorney General, whipping the corrupt money-changers from the temples of Wall Street and so forth.

He's already been embroiled in a major (political) scandal, i.e., siccing the authorities on his nemesis, the (Republican) State Senate majority leader, for using taxpayer paid-for helicopters to chopper in to partisan political events.

The scandal pretty much fizzled out--especially after it was found that Spitzie-Boy was doing the same thing on the taxpayer's dime.

But it does raise an interesting moral issue . . .

Which is worse--abusing the public trust by misusing its funds--or the moral foible of consorting with what the wicked French call Filles de Joie on a purely private basis?

Bottom line (this time, no pun intended) is that I think Spitzer should resign. 

Again, as per above, at least Bubba admitted (even before he was elected president) that he was a hound that didn't always stay in the backyard. Spitzer has always cultivated the image of a choirboy. QED.

Plus, he's the governor of New York. That makes a difference. He has a certain standard to uphold.

Seriously, if the governor of Delaware (whomever she or he is) got caught with goat porn on their office computer, who would care, really?

But New York is the Empire State. It may not be as big as Texas or as populous as California, but financially, culturally, etc. it's still arguably the most influential state in the Union.

Since the founding of the republic, the governor of New York has practically been, by default, considered a potential presidential candidate. Decades ago a politician (whose name escapes me at the moment) noted that the vice-president of the United States "doesn't have the importance of the governor of New York," or words to that effect.

Plus, it's been reported that not only was Spitzer "involved" with a "prostitution ring," but according to some of the reports coming in, he arranged to have a paid paramour shipped down from New York to Washington, D.C.

Across state lines, in other words, which is a violation of a federal law known as the Mann Act.

It's the same law that the Feds used to lock up Chuck Berry back in the early 60s.

If they could run in the man who pretty much invented rock 'n' roll, the same rules should apply to Eliot Spitzer.

So I think he should resign.

LIFSOS awaits developments.

But boy, Monday has become quite a lot more interesting . . .

Comments

[Craig D'Ooge]

Chuck:

Now that there is an opening, would you second my nomination to the Emperor's Club?