“There is a difference between public and private lives,” Spitzer said in response to a question about whether lying to the public was disqualifying for a public official. “There is a divide there that is something we do want to think about at a certain point and time.” We all know politicians dissemble all the time about negotiations on substantive issues and probably on personal issues as well.” …

Read between the lines of Spitzer’s remarks and here’s what you get: He simply doesn’t believe that his actions as a private citizen could or should heavily impact how the voting public judges his actions in elected office. He views his frequenting of a prostitution service as a personal foible that pales in comparison to the record he built up as state attorney general and then governor, crusading against the excessives of Wall Street.

Spitzer knows that the immutable laws of politics are such that he can’t come out and say that. He has to show appropriate contrition before moving on. But, he also quite clearly believes he has paid the price for his mistakes and that his involvement in the prostitution ring shouldn’t be a focus — for the media or for voters — in the campaign to come.