Somehow what goes around comes around. The only people who I truly feel sorry for are his family, who seem like real quality types. Unfortunately, lots of men tend to think with a brain other than what’s upstairs.

Jaibones on March 11, 2008 at 9:41 PM

No idea as to whether he is a speed freak – 80 grand on hookers — geez that would almost finish off my mortgage!
I hear you about the daughters though – have two grown ones and am in lockstep with you on your view.

Bradky on March 11, 2008 at 8:52 PM

Fair enough, but I thought he was seeing the same chick for months. Didn’t know she was a hooker. But no matter, I have no use for the family values crowd that can’t follow their own rules, and I sure don’t want to be on record as defending Vitter.

What these jerks do to their wives and daughters is a mortal and moral sin. I feel bad for Spitzer, but only as a husband and father of girls, that he is exposed as such a liar and fraud in public. And I am trying to separate that from his reprehensible conduct as a prosecutor. He is a monster. Do you think he’s a speed freak?

Ummmm, McCreevey WAS forced to step down.

Spitzer is hated just as much by Democrats as he is by Republicans. He is just a power-mad, hateful man.

Jaibones on March 11, 2008 at 8:26 AM

Jaibones, you misread what I read. Vitter was with a prostitute not a girlfriend, possibly more than one. He lied about it and ran on a family values campaign specifically contrasting himself with Clinton.
He got a pass because of his stance on immigration if you ask me.
But if you want to defend him go ahead. I think you read this one wrong.

Ted Kennedy just gave Spitzer his tipsy endorsement that “Eliot now seems just like one of the family” and that Spitzer “should cross those bridges ahead when he comes to them” and “not take a back seat to anyone.”

Well, of course. Allah finds it strange that his wife seems one of the few in his inner cockring circle to suggest he might want to stay on. If I had to guess, I’d say her thinking is along the……

Why was justice investigating Spitzer?

Tom_Shipley on March 11, 2008 at 8:01 AM

Tom,

So glad you asked, as I debunk Scott Horton’s piece here and here.

Most of these guys come from old money – Spitzer does and he looks at his government paycheck like the rest of us look at clipping coupons to get $.02 off on wax paper. Pittance.

Besides the old money, Spitzer could make millions at a private law firm.

These guys go for public office for the power and publicity. You don’t get your face on the front page of the NY Times for bilking insurance companies as a trial lawyer, you get it there by being Governor. Double-edged sword for Spitzer.

Why isn’t anyone asking Her Thighness or Obama whether they’ll pardon Spitzer in return for his Superdelegate vote?

Clinton anyway refuses to comment. The irony is delicious. The one thing that Hillary has actual experience in and she clams up.

Can Spitzer outwait the outrage of the public? Can he just offer a low profile while New Yorkers move on to the next outrage? Can he eventually convince people that his use of prostitutes is just a private matter? I suspect he’ll try.

I suspect he’ll fail. There is more than just infidelity involved here. The use of prostitutes may be a private matter but the FBI wasn’t tracking this prostitition ring because they wanted to nail people for doing something that was a private matter. There is also the hypocrisy angle when a self-proclaimed moralist like Spitzer talks about holding public officials accountable for their actions and then does the exact opposite. Finally there is the credibility factor. How does Spitzer govern when he has been morally and ethically compromised by his own actions?

Why isn’t anyone asking Her Thighness or Obama whether they’ll pardon Spitzer in return for his Superdelegate vote?

Why aren’t Dems being put on the spot and asked “The govenor of NY just exploited the weakest among us, are you going to demand his arrest and prosecution or are you in favor of letting it slide?”

Why the hell aren’t the Republicans crucifying the Dems over this? Why can’t conservatives in NY get their damn act toghether? Especially with all the corruption running rampant in Albany?

For those who wish to argue “but but it wasn’t the same as Spitzer” please save your breath. It was almost identical with the exception that Spitzer’s prostitute was recorded.

Bradky on March 11, 2008 at 7:22 AM

In full disclosure, Vitter is my Congressman. I’ve never liked the man and didn’t vote for him when he took over from Bob Livingston as Congressman either because he comes off as slimy and opportunistic (not in the good way).

That being said, you are flat-out wrong that you can equate the two situations. Vitter’s infidelity was dealt with as a private matter YEARS before it came to public light. It was only last month that Spitzer was checking into the Mayflower under a false name and putting money into his whoring account.

Also different is that Vitter is a Senator and Spitzer a governor. The roles they play in public life are completely different. It is far easier to womanize from the lofty heights of the Senate because you have 99 others to cover for you. A governor has to propose legislation and work far more closely with others as a “leader” than a Senator does. How does Spitzer have any credibility after a story like this?

Finally, and perhaps the most significant difference, is that the FBI was involved because Governor Happy Pants was doing money transfers so strange the bank felt compelled to report the transactions. You dismiss this factor in your support of Spitzer but that is dishonest. Vitter’s infidelity was discreet, Spitzers was blatant and might well have involved public funds. It is necessary to at least ensure that Spitzer isn’t corrupt.

I will give your hero credit in this regard. He didn’t purchase one of those DC hookers but, rather, imported from New York. I’m sure the public will give him a complete pass since he bought locally.

BJ laid down the foundations.

Spitzer and Paterson in transition talks

But there are aspects of this case that stink on ice and it will be only a matter of time — a short time, I suspect — before it is revealed as a politically tainted prosecution.

If politicians want to have their little vices, I have an idea for them – don’t run for elected office.

Instead, we want to make exceptions for these clowns to keep them in office. Ridiculous. There are plenty of good candidates for elective office who don’t have illegal vices.

NoDonkey on March 11, 2008 at 11:54 AM

If they didn’t have the money and power of their positions they might not be able to afford their vices.

Innocent lives lost on 9/11 = tragedy
kooly on March 11, 2008 at 7:43 AM

Sorry but 9/11 = Attack
Quit calling it a tragedy.

We shouldn’t accept the Democrat’s definition of what constitutes an offense which should exclude a politician from office.

There are no “private affairs” when you become the steward of billions of dollars of taxpayer money and all that goes along with governing a state or a country.

You do anything to compromise yourself, as in banging interns, having extra-marital affairs, etc., patronizing hookers, illegal gambling, that should be it – you are out of here.

Because politicians are replaceable. No one will ever miss Eliot Spitzer or any other Democrat, for that matter.

If politicians want to have their little vices, I have an idea for them – don’t run for elected office.

Instead, we want to make exceptions for these clowns to keep them in office. Ridiculous. There are plenty of good candidates for elective office who don’t have illegal vices.