This is all Inkblot's fault!

good riddance

say, is David Vitter still a senator ? yes? oh. i see.

This shouldn't be illegal in the first place and I don't care what these guys do in their private time.

Uh, yes it should be illegal. Yes, it is a big deal when someone with a security clearance is caught doing this sort of thing--it exposes them to the possibility of blackmail.

Spitzer shouldn't be given any different treatment than we've given Vitter or Craig or any of the others who have been caught doing this shit--if your judgement is that impaired, get a job in the private sector and have a ball. But don't take a job where you have access to classified material, a security clearance, the public money, or the ability to have someone investigated or indicted.

As governor, he's given access to sensitive Homeland Security information--I definitely do not want MY governor to be in a position where he can be blackmailed.

I tend to agree that what Spitzer seems to be accused of (and what he seems to be confessing to) shouldn't matter. But Spitzer is in a unique position, fighting an extremely sclerotic and (bipartisanly) corrupt political machine in Albany. Making himself into a punchline would compromise his ability to continue in that vein to the point that I think he should resign (and I say this as a constituent of Spitzer's and long-term fan of his, too).

Kevin,

Do you think it 90% likely he will be forced from office before his term is concluded? Or is that you think he has won his last election?

getting nailed in something like this is seriously stupid. and scummy. good riddance.

I live in Nevada and agree that prostitution should be legal. But Spitzer betrayed the very laws he was elected to uphold, and he has made a career out of going after ethical lapses no matter where they occur. If he can be hypocritical about prostitution, he can be hypocritical about anything. I've always respected Spitzer and it will be sad to see him go, but he did this to himself.

Craig, by the way, is a different issue entirely, since the crimes charged against him are arguably unconstitutional. (I'm with the ACLU on that one.) But the hit to his reputation is nevertheless fair.

Pale Rider: Uh, yes it should be illegal ... it exposes them to the possibility of blackmail.

But if it's not illegal, then the potential for blackmail isn't there. That same circular reasoning has been used to ban gays from the military and other "sensitive" occupations.

But you're quite right that while it is illegal, Spitzer shouldn't get preferential treatment.

Wait! What Craig did shouldn't be illegal? No conflating, please. There is a big difference between private/public behavior. What Craig pleaded to was behavior in public.

The hypocrisy charge is the big one here, same as it is with social conservatives who don't practice what they preach. Spitzer should probably step down.

Kevin wrote:

. . . fact that Spitzer has busted prostitution rings in his previous career brings the usual hypocrisy charges into play too.

I don't think so, or at least hypocrisy doesn't come up in the way you're suggesting. As a prosecutor, it was expected of Spitzer to bust prostitution rings and it's not as if he (like the Republicans) touts his commitment to sexual morality, over that of his political opponents, in order to get elected. He may be a hypocrite if, as is presumable, he tells his wife he's faithful to her, and he tells people that they should stay faithful to theor spouses, etc. But it doesn't really have anything to do with his politics.

I chalk it up as an (embarassing) personal failing, but as fair as what the typical cheating scandal is like, to me this one is more like personal business and less appropriate as political news or a political criticism of him. You can't even call it a double-standard for Republicans, because it's the Republicans who make it an issue for themselves by claiming to have an iron-clad commitment to pbserving these kinds of taboos.

I chalk it up as an (embarassing) personal failing, but as fair as what the typical cheating scandal is like,

Oops, I meant "as far as" not "as fair as."

Kevin, I'll save my snickering at another Democrat being caught in a sex scandal for another day. But I will point out that Spitzer's successor will be David Patterson, an African American. Since Spitzer was a Hillary supporting superdelegate, then his resignation will result in David Patterson being the new superdelegate instead of him. And since Patterson is an African American, he will certainly support Obama. So one more vote for Obama meaning Hillary's even losing bigger in the delegate count. Go Obama.

But if it's not illegal, then the potential for blackmail isn't there.

It's got nothing to do with the illegality--it's got everything to do with exposing a public official for having used the services of a high-end escort service.

I'm not talking about morality or legality--this is purely a matter of security clearances and access to classified information. You DO NOT want people who have access to that material to be dilly dallying with hookers--it sets them up for all kinds of trouble.

Like I said--if you want to do that sort of thing, get out of public life and go into the private sector and have ass at it. But DO NOT try to tell me that an elected official who has access to classified material and can have people investigated and indicted and who has access to public funds should be engaging in this behavior. It sets an extremely bad precedent and we're only asking for trouble if we take the quasi-libertarian view that it's a victimless crime.

Cue the people who will tell you prostitution is NOT a victimless crime--and have a listen to what they have to say.

I used to work for him. not closely.

the difference is that Spitzer's entire persona and campaign was predicated upon him being the second coming of Eliot Ness. I agree that prostitution should be legal. but it's not. a governor is supposed to obey the law. so, yes, it is a pretty darn serious breach of public trust...and removes the entire raison d'etre of his political life. he's fucked.

People can be blackmailed because they are having an affair, even if the affair itself doesn't break any laws.

Hypocrisy doesn't stick here-

It's not as if Spitzer's DA office had a policy of not prosecuting prostitution, and then he came along and said "This is a scourge on humanity-- let's wipe it out" and then began a new endeavor of prosecuting prostitution.

Here in New York State, where so many of my frieds are Democrats and voted for Spitzer, the outrage is quite palpable. And that's among Democrats. What really did him in is his self-righteous arrogance, the Smartest Man In The Room and I Will Rub Your Nose In It syndrome. Even before this career-ending scandal, many of us who had supported him were becoming disheartened. He should resign sooner rather than later.

Upscale prostitution cost him $5500/hour. Why wouldn't he fly to Vegas and get him some legal prostitution at that cost?

Cue the people who will tell you prostitution is NOT a victimless crime

Point taken. I could split hairs, but I choose not to stroll into that swamp.

Hypocrisy doesn't stick here-It's not as if Spitzer's DA office had a policy of not prosecuting prostitution, and then he came along and said "This is a scourge on humanity-- let's wipe it out" and then began a new endeavor of prosecuting prostitution.

You are so fucking idiotic it has to be diagnosable. It's like words just fly out of your mouth in random order and you hasten to get it all down in type to share with us.

"getting nailed in something like this is seriously stupid. and scummy."

I bet the woman who got $5500 an hour would disagree with the stupid part, at least.

In Spitzers defence-atleast it was with adult women.

Maybe Spitzer was just doing research...

Who cares what his taste for sex is.

Hypocrisy is another matter. He fails as a man that promises clean up in government and then goes his merry way acting like a juvenile in the face of his grown up commitments.

He has failed the trust of those who elected him. He has made his tenure untennable. His words are hot air that reeks of cynicism.

He is toast.

BS Kevin,

Immoral or not, this is a highly illegal act. Not one you want a high-level politician compromised by.

On the moral side, I highly doubt all of these "diamond" girls are there by their own will.

Kevin: I think you're wrong that this is a "who cares?" situation. You may think it's stupid that prostitution is illegal, I think I do, but the fact remains that it is illegal. There's really no excuse for a Governor, and former Attorney General to deliberately engage in illegal behavior. If nothing else, it shows incredibly bad judgement. And I do think that simply obeying the law is kind of a minimum requirement for a state Governor.

Market Rallies on Spitzer Downfall

If David "Family Values" Vitter can get away with it, why can't Elliot "Prosecutor" Spitzer?

(I suspect the answer might have something to do with how differently the two similar events are covered.)

I am a long-time supporter of legalizing prostitution, but if Spitzer starts using the "consenting adult" defense I am going to barf. As I recall, Dick Grasso's pay package was negotiated by consenting (and sophisticated) adults but that did not stop Spitzer from prosecuting him and grandstanding the case all the way to the governor's mansion.

As Democrats, especially since Republicans are probably going to be using this to communicate "Look at what the Democrats are like!!" to their rank-and-file, I just don't think it's our role to exagerrate this thing or crack down too hard on this guy for it.

Prostitution and cheating on a spouse can both be very ugly, or can both be not too ugly; but at their least ugly, these activities can amount to (1) a person who is very arguably making or not making a bad decision, (2) committing a crime with a man by engaging in basically what would be a recreational activity if no money were changing hands, and (3) a man violating a relationship that is basically done with anyway.

I don't think I'm for legalizing prostitution, but I don't think it's our place to crack down on this guy as if he were the scum of the Earth until we know that there are facts involved that make this a really egregious case of what happened. For example, if Spitzer went around publicly talking about how rotten promiscuity is in his political speeches, this would make him a hypocrite, but (as far as I've heard, or expect to hear) he didn't.

tom.a wrote:

Upscale prostitution cost him $5500/hour.

Hearing about that kind of price for prositution has always mystified me. But I guess it must be you can expect more secrecy than trying to pick up women at a bar, plus the prostitutes aren't butt-ugly ones.

Mike, I agree with the ACLU -- what Craig is protected under the 1st amendment:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/122593.html

What a darn shame. I really liked this guy. He was doing good things. No more, I guess.

How could anyone in his position think that he would get away with this? I bet he was being blackmailed.

Vitter (who probably should have resigned) wasn't a government executive. he wasn't a governor specifically charged with enforcing a state's laws. neither had he ever personally prosecuted people for prostitution.

there's a difference between campaigning as Eliot Ness reincarnated and as Charlie Wilson (not that Vitter ran as Charlie Wilson...)

$5500 an hour? 44 grand per day? Wow. I'm in the wrong racket.

Swan: Spitzer personally prosecuted three high-profile prosecution cases.

I see that Al is here, contributing his Repukeliscum perspective about things.

Al, you're a moron. NY pols support Hillary. Black ones, white one, ones with their dicks in hos.

The superdelegate situation will not change.

And since Patterson is an African American, he will certainly support Obama.

Paterson has endorsed Clinton.

OMG - as a new resident of NYC, what have I done leaving the land of Hollywood. First, it was the former mayor (Rudy) and that police chief of his. Now my governor. In fairness - we should make Spitzer serve out his term and then never let him run for a post higher than dog catching. Oh yea - we need to build him a dog house and his wife should make him sleep there.

I too think this is pretty horrible and shocking. While I am up in the air about the legalization of prostitution (leaning towards supporting legalization), the fact that he put himself in a compromising position is about as bad a situation that someone whith his authority can do. I can't think of a way that Spitzer gets through his term as a sitting governor - and he sadly deserves to go.

The New York Sun reports that the case against the prostitution ring is being handled by the Justice Department's public corruption section.

One wonders if the Bush administration's unmonitored wiretapping and surveillance programs got this investigation going.

Alas, a once shining star comes crashing to earth. At least Charlie Wilson was single. What's Spitzer's excuse (or Craig's, or Vitter's for that matter)?

Swan: Spitzer personally prosecuted three high-profile prosecution cases.

Yeah, and that was his job. He wasn't being a hypocrite by doing his job, unless you think ever person in the US Army/Air Force/Navy/Marines is a hypocrite when they're not insubordinate every time a commander gives them an order they think is stupid. Spitzer can be a critic of anti-prostitution laws all he wants, but as a public prosecutor he's hired to bring prosecutions against prositution rings. He's basically saying to the state, "I accept your judgment as to the laws you pass, and I accept that my role as a citizen if I disagree is to try to vote or write to change the law." If Spitzer wasn't a prosecutor, someone else would be, and they would bring prostitution cases. There are many, many lawyers who wouldn't have minded at all getting to have Spitzers job. He would have stopped nothing by quitting, and he could have done more to stop outlawing prostitution by being a prosecutor but publicly protesting the laws in spite of it.

Orson,

$5500 an hour? 44 grand per day? Wow. I'm in the wrong racket.

Yeah but I think you'd get maybe $10 a pop so you'd have to do bookoo piecework to earn that kinda dough.

Let's count the offenses shall we:

Hiring a prostitute - illegal
Cheating on wife - immoral
Prosecuting prostitution rings - hypocritical
Opening oneself to blackmail - breach of the public trust

I think that pretty much covers things. Did I miss anything?

I guess Spitzer is a Superdelegate, committed to Clinton, right? He'll have to resign of course.

Who is the Lt. Gov., and could he throw his support to Obama?

Weenie,

Okay. Why is it Inkblot's fault? And you must answer without once using the word "cathouse."

Fucking moron. I figured he would have been US attorney general in a Kerry administration.

He's got nowhere to go but down from here. Now if he were a Rethug . . .

The comment about Patterson is incorrect. First of all, Patterson is already a superdelegate because of his position on the DNC. Second of all despite being African American Patterson has been a firm and unwavering supporter of Clinton since she announced her candidacy. He has had kind words for Obama but he is firmly behind Clinton.

And the upside of this catastrophe is:

David A. Paterson

Born May 20, 1954 (1954-05-20) (age 53)
Brooklyn, New York
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse Michelle Paige Paterson
Profession Lawyer

David A. Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and the current Lieutenant Governor of New York. He is the first African American to hold this position. He was selected as running mate by New York Attorney General and Democratic Party nominee Eliot Spitzer in the 2006 New York gubernatorial election.

Paterson was born legally blind in Brooklyn in 1954. He received a BA from Columbia University in 1977 and later his law degree from Hofstra Law School. After law school, he went to work for the Queens District Attorney's Office. In 1985 he joined the campaign staff of David Dinkins for Manhattan Borough President. In October of that year, longtime state Senator Leon Bogues, representing a district covering Manhattan neighborhoods Harlem, Manhattan Valley and the Upper West Side, died and Paterson won a highly competitive New York (Manhattan) County Democratic party Committee selection process to serve the rest of Bogues' term. The following year, 1986, he won the seat for his first full term representing the 29th District in the New York State Senate.

He is the son of former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson, who was the first African American NYC Deputy Mayor and the first to run for statewide office in New York. Secretary Paterson was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1970. The elder Paterson also served in the NY state Senate in the same seat his son occupied. In 1993, David Paterson ran citywide for the office of the Public Advocate, the second highest elected office in New York City.

Paterson was elected Senate Minority Leader in 2002, becoming both the first non-white state legislative leader and the highest-ranking black elected official in the history of New York State.

A member of the Democratic National Committee and a board member of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Paterson addressed the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston as well as the Democratic mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Paterson is an active advocate for the visually and physically impaired. He was elected as a member of the American Foundation for the Blind, and also serves as a board member of the Achilles Track Club, having completed the New York City Marathon in 1999.

He has a younger sibling, Daniel, who is a New York government official. He lives in Harlem with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson. They have two children: Ashley, who entered Ithaca College in fall, 2006, and Alex, who attends school in New York City.

He has been mentioned in some political circles as a possible successor to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton should the fellow New York Democrat win the 2008 US presidential election and resign the seat to assume the presidency.

He is an avid fan of New York sports teams, and has been known to call in to WFAN, the sports talk radio station of New York City.

Spitzer appears--arguably of course-- to have violated the Mann Act: it is alleged the prostitute crossed State lines for immoral purposes at "Client 9's" request. A federal crime (the same one Chuck Berry got busted for) may mean the end of Mr. Spitzer's brilliant career. From the look on Mrs. Spitzer's face at his press conference, she seems to think so.

I'm with Kevin here.. but he should've just went to Nevada, where prostitution is legal.

Open any yellow pages in this country, and you'll find multiple numbers under Escorts.

How come none of these get busted?

And how come they busted this one two weeks after they got Spitzer on tape? It isn't a coincidence.

Regardless, Spitzer doesn't have a choice but to resign. He's a liability to Democrats and progressives until he's gone.

This goes back to the Mann Act and the alleged transportation of Spitzer's hooker from NYC to DC -- i.e., white slavery across state lines. That is, legislative idiocy from a hundred years ago.

Why are Democrats expected to resign instantly while Republicans linger forever after their scandals are made public? Craig, Vitter, Jeff Gannon's White House clientele, etc.

Weenie,

Okay. Why is it Inkblot's fault? And you must answer without once using the word "cathouse."

- Thersites

It is Inkblot's fault because he is male - and it is starting to appear that few of them are able to keep their peckers in their pockets while they are in office.

The NY Sun was speculating this morning that the reason high powered federal anti-corruption prosecutors were investigating this particular prostitution ring was because certain public oficials patronized it. What they were looking for, the Sun speculated, was how a public official making, say, $120,000 per year could get the money to patronize $5,000/hour prostitutes. That of course doesn't apply to Spitzer, who comes from a fabulously wealthy family. Thus, it appears he was a drive-by victim of an investigation aimed at other, possibly corrupt officials.

Of course it's hard to avoid a little schadenfreude in a case like this, considering that Spitzer made his reputation by ruining the lives and reputations of innocent men (like Hank Greenberg).

SAO:

On the moral side, I highly doubt all of these "diamond" girls are there by their own will.

Show me one shred of evidence supporting that statement.

Yeah, and that was his job. He wasn't being a hypocrite by doing his job, unless you think ever person in the US Army/Air Force/Navy/Marines is a hypocrite when they're not insubordinate every time a commander gives them an order they think is stupid. Posted by: Swan

True. But unless the prostitution in question was anything other than a public nuisance, going after it is not a particularly good use of tax payer money. He did much greater public service nailing Wall Street and the insurance industry.

It’s getting to the point where we can no longer trust any ethics reform proposals for our public servants which come from a member of a major political party.

http://www.jeffwartman.com/2008/03/new-york-governor-eliot-spitzer-linked.html

Spitzer is a rock star and he's inspirational. Pretty sure this makes him invincible.

What happens to Hillary's New York superdelegate count? Any impact?

Weenie:
I shoulda known better than to ask. Time to go lie in the sun.

optical weenie,

Ahem I believe peckers are meant to be kept in the pants not the pocket.

While we are on the subject does anyone know why chickens don't piss?

Because they eat with their peckers.

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the veal, it is excellent.

The real news here is that Spitzer ISN'T a republican. I can understand republicans going to whores, but Democrats can usually get laid on their own.

But seriously, it's a sad day. I hate to see someone who's done so much good have his career scuttled over what amounts to simple human weakness.

The junior high school crowd sure has shown up for this one.

Don`t you people ever get tired of being total idiots ?

And anyone that supports "free markets" and thinks prostitution should be illegal is a very deluded determined hypocrite.

Of course I realize that most of the males pontificating here are jealous of Mr. Spitzer being able to have sex with these women.

Time to act your age folks and stop playing the Moralizer bunny.

"...It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins..." - Benjamin Franklin

At least he wasn't giving them drivers' licenses.

All this makes me wonder what percentage of our top gov officials are getting a little on the side. Is catching Spitzer like catching a speeder on the interstate in LA?

Shake a leg Thersites, shake a leg!

daCascadian,

Don`t you people ever get tired of being total idiots ?

Gosh I hope not.

But I'm confused. Should we glorify Spitzer or vilify him? Which would you have?

Me - it's more fun to make jokes. After the nutrition of vilifying Spitzer of course.

perhaps he was part of an undercover operation??

Searcy,
I suspect that the answer to your question is the percentage of regular folks who cheat on their spouse x 2 (because of the being in office power factor).

All this makes me wonder what percentage of our top gov officials are getting a little on the side. Is catching Spitzer like catching a speeder on the interstate in LA?

Is this what they mean by government service?

We have come not to praise Spitzer, but to bury him.

Very truly yours,

Karl Rove
"I love it when a plan comes together!"

Tripp,
I don't think this was government service - Spitzer would have had to have filled out 42 forms requesting that he be able to travel, then after that he would have to stick with government approved travel agency that has to book you into a hotel that has government rates. The hotel checks your ID when you get there to make certain that you are government employee.

I think Spitzer registered under a different name.

SAO:

On the moral side, I highly doubt all of these "diamond" girls are there by their own will.

Somehow, I think, at $5k per hour, the women involved needed very little cajoling to do that sort of work.

He is an avid fan of New York sports teams

I'm gonna need to know which teams before I decide whether or not to vilify him.

Tripp >"...Should we glorify Spitzer or vilify him? Which would you have?..."

Neither.

Time to move on and focus on the real problems the human community has. Hunger, lack of proper medical care, worship of cultivated ignorance etc.

As I posted earlier I think most male outrage expressed here over this situation is built on the hypocracy of jealousy.

And I am continually baffled at the ongoing internalizing of the ReThug propaganda by the large percentage of the human community.

Grow up and lose your chains !

YMMV of course...

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell

Shortstop - Paterson is a Hillary supporter. Shouldn't that be enough for you? Vilify away!

LOL. Ah, weenie, it's not your support of Hillary that's your probl....oh, look, over there! A little bitty kitty witty! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

well i'm glad at least one of us isn't a total idiot. i'm just not sure who this person might be.

As I posted earlier I think most male outrage expressed here over this situation is built on the hypocracy of jealousy.

Mmmm, perhaps, had he been gettin' with these apparently lovely and talented ladies for free. But paying for it...probably not so much of an envy-stoker. However, as an XX-er (that's chromosomes, you rogues), who am I to say?

What is it with these elected officials who can't keep their pal in check. After The Clenisâ„¢ and Big Brother Bush you'd think this kind of risky business would be so over.

I hope that lay was the best of Spitzer's life.

Tragic.

Damn shame. I've always considered Spitzer a hero for taking on Wall Street scumbags.

But, he's gotta go. We can't ridicule Republicans for their hypocritical sexcapades if we look the other way when it's one of our own.

Another great man brought down by inability to keep it in his pants. When will you men ever learn?

Actually Shortstop I got me a newbie baby kitty just this weekend. Rescued from the side of the local highway by my neighbor up the street.

Mirin is doing just fine. She's probably 12 weeks old, is gray and cream and has a white nose, white front mitts and white boots. It looks like she is going to be a long haired cat with a nice fluffy plume for a tail.

Of course Cleopatra, the empress of the universe, currently has her shorts in a knot, but she'll get over it.

Spitzer evidently did not go with a "top of the line" prostiture for $5500/hr. He instead went with a mid level pro, and ended up paying $4300 for 2.5 hours. For that kind of money he could have gotten a reasonably good super bowel ticket.

What is it with these elected officials who can't keep their pal in check. After The Clenisâ„¢ and Big Brother Bush you'd think this kind of risky business would be so over.

Seriously? Don't you think certain personality types get off--sorry--on risk? They're totally drawn to it.

Bill Clinton, for example, never would have been impeached had he selected a playmate with as much to lose (relatively speaking, since she obviously couldn't lose a presidency) as he did if word of their affair got out. Washington is full of beautiful, bright, sexy women who have wonderful public jobs and who want to stay married to their powerful husbands. But he went with...um, Monica.

Well, I will say one thing for Spitzer: at least his sex scandal involves an adult woman. If he'd been a Republican, this probably would have involved him paying for some sordid sexual situation involving a small animal, a child, or some sort of creatively designed shrubbery or garden vegetable.

...some sort of creatively designed shrubbery or garden vegetable.

Probably not that creative. Probably strictly Hobby Lobby or Ben Franklin.

I meant to compliment you on a recent similar remark re topiaries, however. It cracked me up.

One wonders if there are any GOP johns involved with this ring who have yet to be revealed.

Seriously? Don't you think certain personality types get off--sorry--on risk? They're totally drawn to it.

What can I say? You're right.

Another great man brought down by inability to keep it in his pants. When will you men ever learn?
Posted by: arteclectic

"Another great man"? I can't think of anyone else that got caught up in this sort of thing in the last decade that qualifies as "great." In fact, the one's who mostly come to mind have been idiot, Bible-thumping, pro-family, blah, blah, blah Republicans and Clinton, the latter being pretty mediocre overall as a president.

arteclectic >"...Another great man brought down..."

He isn`t a "great man". None of them are "great men" or they wouldn`t be politicians who are the biggest whores on the planet.

Looks like a swarm of junior high folks has decended on the comment section here today. Anything else THE topic of lunch room conversation today, that dress Heather is wearing maybe ?

"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." – Edward R. Murrow

I too think prostitution should be legal, but it isn't right now, and the guy was New York's Attorney General. I think it's more than just hypocrisy.

And he is a bit of a self-aggrandizing schmuck.

optical weenie, So if 40% of non-politician married males have affairs, then 80% of politicians do? That seems low to me.

The first-term governor "said ( May, 2007) that the country faces a crisis in foreign policy, domestic economics and ethics. " A crisis," he said, "that needs somebody tall to stand up with pride" and say,"I am proud to lead this nation."

This was part of Spitizer's endorsement speech for Hillary Clinton for President...It has been scrubbed from her site. Now only Xaviera Hollander would seek Spitizer's endorsement to run anything.

Why call it "upscale"?

Politicos diddling with high-priced whores, who have highly organized pimps is something, but I wouldn't call it upscale.

Sleaze, gutter behavior, embarrassment to family and children. Would Bill Clinton have been downscale because he was taking advantage of a low-paid employee?

Upscale? Downscale? And using the name of a friend of his to try to cover his tracks. This guy is a lowlife, among lowlife. His wife should have grabbed the mike and told the assembled that she was resigning from membership in the Spitzer clan. And that she intended to make it a truly high-priced when this bizarre dope began to really pay the bill for his lowlife behavior.

Now only Xaviera Hollander would seek Spitizer's endorsement to run anything. Posted by: Steve Crickmore

Apropos of nothing, she's got be in her 60s. I kind of doubt she's hooking anymore and I wonder is she's still happy?

daCascadian writes:
Looks like a swarm of junior high folks has decended on the comment section here today.

I see your point, but if this isn't a topic we can't have a little fun with, I don't know what is.

Jeff II writes:
"Another great man"? I can't think of anyone else that got caught up in this sort of thing in the last decade.

But if you remove the 'last decade' qualifier, you get JFK and MLK.. and possibly many other 'great' men..

He and McGreevy should get together now.

Well at least for the hooker's sake he was known as Mr. Clean!

I bet you won't find him using the Haggard defense, "I was just meeting her to by some meth."

I actually feel sorry for these public guys who apparently have such a need for sex their wives can't supply that they risk everything to use a prostitute.

The male sex drive sure gets them into all kinds of trouble.

Count me on the side of prostitution (like drugs) should be legalized so it can be regulated.

It's not necessary to allow exploitation of women. That can still be illegal and probably is under other laws already on the books. But please explain to me why the government should care if someone pays someone else to have sex with them.

I have a suspicion that the illegality of prostituion has to do with the "unclean" nature of women in general according to some western religions. And to the persistent feeling on the part of some that any woman who enjoys sex is a slut.

But if you remove the 'last decade' qualifier, you get JFK and MLK.. and possibly many other 'great' men.. Posted by: Andy

Kennedy's tenure was too short to determine whether he would have been a great president or not. He made two major mistakes, the Bay of Pigs invasion and ratcheting up our involvement in Vietnam, that offset his one notable success with the so-called Cuban missile crisis.

Send him up here. We need some politicians with balls.

Jeff 11, apparently Xaviera has gone legit and has a 'bed n breakfast' in Amsterdam and looks happy enough. Maybe Spitzer will have some time off soon, to visit it.

Doesn't matter if it should be legal or not. Fact is, it is illegal. This guy is a whole lot of stupid. Did he really think he wasn't going to get caught? Congrats Eliot. You just pissed away your career and marriage.

Cal Gal >"...But please explain to me why the government should care if someone pays someone else to have sex with them...."

It shouldn`t but note that "illegal" activities are the foundation of all crime groups so maybe there is a push to keep it "illegal" so as to enable manipulation of behavior of those in the government for the benefit of the "less than legal" crowd who would have to get "real jobs" if their money sources dried up.

Also I think your "unclean" comment is probably part of it.

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw

But please explain to me why the government should care if someone pays someone else to have sex with them. Posted by: Cal Gal

Ya! In some cultures it's called dating.

If Spitz resigns, we New Norkers will have a Black blind Governor -- scion of a Harlem political family. Surely that's a first -- a particularly milestone for the legally blind.

Surely that's a first -- a particularly milestone for the legally blind. Posted by: Hotspur

And certainly not at all to be confused with the legally stupid, this being a requirement, apparently, for all Republican politicians.

"caught in a wiretap" my Sainted Aunt.

I'm gonna put on my tinfoil hat and say ALL communication is being filtered folks, otherwise the terrorists could talk and we might miss it.

Since we can't have THAT, we need to scan it all. Really.

This bust and Rockefeller's behavior are more easily understood after making this assumption.

Tinfoil hat off now. Really.

No, really.

Mister Drum,

You need to get out more. Travel around the world and see what the scourge of prostitution brings. Will you tell your daughter that such is a viable career choice? (if she looks like you tell her to consider alternates)

DofCD

I, too, probably could have cared less about Gov. Eliot Spitzer's penchant for diddling around with hookers, were it not for him making such a big pompous fuss about cracking down on prostitution while he was N.Y. Atty. General.

In but one short press conference, he managed to expose himself to the world as yet another political hypocrite. Words cannot really express my utter disappointment in someone from whom I clearly expected better.

I'm sure that I'll feel differently about this situation after a short time, when I can get a better perspective about what he actually did -- but I tell ya, it's probably a good thing that he's taking a short leave from his post to be with his family. I seriously doubt if very many Democrats want to see his sorry fuckin' ass right now, anyway.

I would call Craig's behavior objectionable. He did it in a public bathroom. I mean, get a room and then I don't care. But that isnot a scene I want to find when I walk into a mens room somewhere - please.

It's refreshing to have a heterosexual political sex scandal for a change.

But it is dismaying to see writers to this forum using words like "sclerotic", when "tumescence" and "erection" would have filled the bill.

You need to get out more. Travel around the world and see what the scourge of prostitution brings. Will you tell your daughter that such is a viable career choice? (if she looks like you tell her to consider alternates) Posted by: DukeConDao

I doubt too many loving parents want their daughters (or sons) turning tricks. But I don't think you can quite draw a straight line between forced child prostitution in failed or semi-failed Third World states like Cambodia or India and "pros" in Western countries who are paid, in this case, reportedly $5,400.00 a trick. Even if 75% goes to the house, if the woman in question worked just five nights/days a week and took four weeks of vacation, she's making more $300K/year.

The whole point of legalizing something that's going to happen anyway is to regulate it so that exploitation can be, at least, minimized if not entirely eliminated.

Orson: "$5500 an hour? 44 grand per day?"

Eliot Spitzer must've been fucking Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie -- together.

It's an old story, I suppose. Glittering credentials, rich family, 1580 SATs, perfect LSATS. Princeton and Harvard Law. Howard Fineman was just on Matthews saying he covered Spitzer and thought he was weirdly unhappy. Seemed he felt he was trapped in a world partly handed to him and then shaped, we're led to assume, mostly to his liking. A lovely, equally credentialed wife. Three teen-aged daughters. The NY governorship. And he was unhappy? And a call girl is going to fix that? Couldn't he have had the panache to have fallen in love with his mistress?

I guess some people are subject to the law, be just not Republicans.

How do you win a 2008 election on that, because you don't and can't.

I mean if Bush can lie about torture, than want to make it legal. If Bush can lie about wiretapping, than want to make it legal - will someone is above the law - but it just ain't Dems.

Want to get drunk and shoot someone in the face - than report it 24 hours later after you've had time to sober up - will why not if your a Republican? Huh?

Want to stack the DoJ and fire honest attorneys that were just doing their jobs - will why not cause it's exaclty what Bush did, and it was his pleasure to do, thus in the GOP - no law need EVER apply. Only Dems are suppost to have any morality, are suppost to abide by laws. Strange huh?

The religous right in action. The only laws happen to be whatever law they make-up.

Yeah, I'm kinda glad I ain't arguing this is no big deal.

It IS a big deal, and Spitzer needs to resign immediately and get some professional help.

From the Federal Affadavit:

No more calls were logged until 12:02 a.m. Thursday -- Valentine's Day -- nearly 2½ hours later. At that time, Kristen told Lewis Client 9 had left and she had collected $4,300.

Lewis told the prostitute she'd been told that Client 9 "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think are safe -- you know -- I mean that ... very basic things," the affidavit says.

Kristen told Lewis, "I have a way of dealing with that. ... I'd be like, listen dude, you really want the sex?"

"I don't think he's difficult," Kristen is quoted as saying. "I mean it's just kind of like ... whatever ... I'm here for a purpose. I know what my purpose is. I am not a ... moron, you know what I mean."

I mean, it's pretty obvious--he's into what a call girl would consider a "deviant" type of sexual practice. And if what you're doing with a woman who is paid to have sex with men is considered "dangerous," you have issues that go well beyond anything we have to consider as far as politics are concerned.

I still thing the fact that he has access to classified material is important as well. Plus, how much you wanna bet that call girl ring has organized crime ties?

Israeli Sniper Takes 12-Year-Old Girl's Life

"I put my hand on her chest to stop the streaming blood. She told me that she could not breathe, her body trembled and she closed her eyes," said Ra'd Abu Saif of his 12-year-old daughter Safa's last moments after she was shot by an Israeli sniper last Saturday.

http://www.nationalexpositor.com/News/1071.html

Some of you guys are right. Prostitution should be illegal. Fortunately we have escorts and massage parlours.

Legal or not, prostitution is the oldest profession. But Americans do have a problem with sexuality. All day the guys gossip on TV and act as if it is news worth talking about 24/7. They never spend that much time on real news, real issues.

At least they should make a distinction in just using the service of a prostitute or being linked to a prostitute ring as if he was making money as the headlines implied. But when the males start thinking with their tails.

I mean, it's pretty obvious--he's into what a call girl would consider a "deviant" type of sexual practice.

LOL, no--it's pretty obvious he wanted to skip the condom. That's what "very basic things" and her telling him "You want the sex...? [No glove, no love]" means.

Jeff II: "I doubt too many loving parents want their daughters (or sons) turning tricks."

But then again, who are we to judge? To be perfectly honest, I have an old friend from my high school days -- who will remain anonymous, of course -- who became a very well-known and popular adult film star during the early '80s. She actually used her earnings to put herself through both college and medical school. 25 years later, she's a well-respected pediatrician, who also donates a good deal of time providing health care for indigent children through one of the free clinics in the L.A. area.

As Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders once told us, "We're in possession of the thing that men want. So, who's better than who?"

He's toast and good fucking riddance.

His "crusades" against various Wall Street power players were merely political theater to support his will to power. His daddy is a big shot real estate developer, and Eliot is funded by the real estate development machine in the big apple. He's a playah, not a white knight.

Look out for the little guy?

Bullshit.

The fact that some people think that prostitution "should" be legal is irrelevant here. He is supposed to symbolize law and order, he is supposed to be a reformer -- he is, in fact, just another ambitious, win at all costs megalomaniac who has never hesitated to use the formidable government tools at his disposal to harass political rivals and build up his personal resume (see Giuliani, Rudolph).

He's going down in flames and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

I say this as a registered Democrat in NYC.

That's what "very basic things" and her telling him "You want the sex...? [No glove, no love]" means.

I totally misread that. Man, am I red-faced.

It could mean bullwhips, cheez wiz and reptiles, too, couldn't it?

It could mean bullwhips, cheez wiz and reptiles, too, couldn't it? Posted by: Pale Rider

We don't know, PR, you tell us.

No, I'm guessing that even a pro wouldn't call reptiles "very basic things." Bullwhips and Cheez Wiz, sure.

We don't know, PR, you tell us.

I don't know! That's why I'm asking! This is research for scientific reasons, ya know.

Science!

Science!

I thought Bill Foster should have used that song for his victory celebration. That was one dull-looking bash, and the lighting was most unflattering. But then that district's newly liberal. They'll learn soon enough how to throw a good party.

Wow! What a day, and I'm late for it. I have barely skimmed the thread, but want to chime in and agree with Shortstop at 8:00 p.m. as far as what "very basic things" constitutes. I mean, I know this from watching crime shows, not experience, but still, I don't think he's into choking or anything at all "Lady Heatherish."

I mean, I know this from watching crime shows, not experience, but still, I don't think he's into choking or anything at all "Lady Heatherish."

You can trip on a bullwhip and then choke on the cheez wiz--believe me. And that fucking turtle will just sit there and stare at you with those dark, emotionless eyes...

His "crusades" against various Wall Street power players were merely political theater to support his will to power. His daddy is a big shot real estate developer, and Eliot is funded by the real estate development machine in the big apple. He's a playah, not a white knight.

While the second part may be true, it seems to me that the nation needs more of these kinds of "crusades" and "political theater," Mr. "registered Democrat in NYC," or has the nature of our current economic woes eludeD you?

Look out for the little guy? Bullshit.

So, the multi-million dollar fines various trading houses and such paid was not to punish illegal activity, just show trial stuff? What did you want, heads on stakes down on Church Street? Do I detect the rancor of someone caught on the wrong side of financial law?

The fact that some people think that prostitution "should" be legal is irrelevant here. He is supposed to symbolize law and order, he is supposed to be a reformer

I don't think you'll find a single post above condoning his actions or saying that we should all just turn a blind eye to this, as if we had a choice.

. . . he is, in fact, just another ambitious, win at all costs megalomaniac who has never hesitated to use the formidable government tools at his disposal to harass political rivals and build up his personal resume (see Giuliani, Rudolph).

He in no way resembles Guiliani (save perhaps for the heretofore unknown aspects of his private life). Spitzer did good things. Guiliani really didn't have a single positive accomplishment to his name during his years as mayor.

I say this as a registered Democrat in NYC. Posted by: lobbygow

If it walks like a concern troll . . .

You can trip on a bullwhip and then choke on the cheez wiz--believe me. And that fucking turtle will just sit there and stare at you with those dark, emotionless eyes... Posted by: Pale Rider

We have a winner! LOL

I would think stuff refers to a rimjob

Easy, Jeff. lobbygow's got established creds here. He's no concern troll.

We have a winner! LOL

We do. And I heard that in the voice of Norman Rogers for some reason. In his case it would more likely have been a Russian sable, illegally imported.

I would think stuff refers to a rimjob Posted by:

If so, I think you need to get a new owner's manual for the human body. Unless of course you're talking about doing this with a creme brulee blowtorch or 100 grit sandpaper.

I would think stuff refers to a rimjob

I thought of that too. But Shortstop is right about her saying, "If you really want the sex." That had to mean "Use a condom."

I hope his wife tosses him out on his ass and he ends up on the street.

If democrats are to be the moral party then we need to demonstrate that we don't support "anything goes".

He betrayed his wife, his family, the citizens of New York, and the democratic party.

All I know is we're all going to be in biiiiig trouble when daCascadian comes back and sees us still talking about this.

Tell him you had to bring me up to speed...

"I would think stuff refers to a rimjob."

God, I want to get or give a rimjob... And Bloomberg comes to NY's rescue

I think his reputation as a tough prosecutor necessitates the parachute option (non-golden division).

I agree this should be legal, but if it's not, it's something we actually should care about but not for moralistic reasons or because of simple (though grandly ironic) hypocrisy. If he took it upon himself to bust prostitution rings, a very serious ethical and legal question needs to be examined: Did he in any way protect this prostitution ring, and did his prosecution of other rings lead to a material benefit for this ring? In other words, how much did this ring benefit from his political and legal authority? Because any answer other than "none" -- which seems somewhat unlikely, to me -- raises