It is because of Bill Clinton, that we now have Spitzer’s scandal. Bill Clinton opened the door, well actually JFK did I guess, on disgusting infidelity and humiliating their wives as a twisted form of thrill-seeking political bravado.

This is so tragic, I can see people drawing parallels to classic Greek tragedy.

All orchestrated by.... you guessed it!

http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002589

Raindrop, do you really believe that the phenomenon of people in power being unfaithful is only as recent as Clinton or JFK?

It is because of Bill Clinton, that we now have Spitzer’s scandal.

Because obviously Bill called the Emperor's Club, took him to the Mayflower Hotel, and *forced* him to have sex with that woman. At gunpoint.

Raindrop, that statement makes the short list of the most ignorant things anyone has ever said on Slog. And that's saying something.

I'm glad he's doing the right thing. Larry Craig should follow his example.

Well, Candace Bergen DID call for his resignation. So.

Well kudos for him I guess for taking the road less traveled.

I still think he should have done the "I've asked God and my wife for forgiveness, and now you gots nothin' on me" routine.

Deny, deny, deny. That is Political Survival 101, and Spitzer fucked it up.

No, it wasn't a good move to be banging hookers, but having the constitution of a day-old piece of coffee cake isn't helping the Governor's cause.

Never mind the sexual morality, the fact that he made himself a prime target for blackmail is reason enough to leave. Given his background, this whole mess makes him look incredibly stupid and raises serious doubts about his judgement.

I have to say it sucks that our media culture takes our politicians out for a walk when they get caught doing this sort of stuff but we as a society allow and accept it.

If you are a public figure forget about privacy. And he should resign and so should Larry Craig etc.

If he was dumb enough to fuck hookers while in office he deserves to be tarred and feathered by the media. Too bad. I liked him. Thought he was good for NY. Too bad he is just another hypocrite.

@3: No, you’re right. But such brazen behavior in modern times makes the indiscretions of FDR in Warm Springs, or Wilson’s carriage ride with Edith Boling Galt so soon after his first wife Ellen died, even Harding’s tawdry behavior, and Grover Cleveland’s out-of-wedlock child – pale by comparison.

@11 "we as a society allow and accept it"

How do you figure? I think the US is on the whole remarkably intolerant of adultery. It happens all the time, yes, but that doesn't mean most Americans condone it. And obviously, this whole "scandal" (along with the outrage over scandals like Clinton's fling with Monica Lewinsky) shows that the US does NOT allow and accept it.

@8 is right: what he really needed was a "Jimmy Swaggart moment."

@13 I don't think the behaviour is any different, we just know more about it. If there were cable news and the internet hundreds of years ago, they'd be all over Thomas Jefferson for sleeping with his slaves.

And so we lose another one, one of the very best, because we cannot tolerate sex.

I feel sorry for wife and three teenage daughters.

@14 you ignorant slut, you should re-read my comment and not take me out of context.

Society tolerates our media exploiting these indiscretions. The indescretions have always been going on and everyone knew about them. But now it is front page news.

Silda Wall Spitzer is an older Jennifer Aniston. Yowza. But of course Hugh Grant showed that cattin' has nothing to do with the hotness of your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse, viz Liz Hurley vs. Divine Brown.

Spitzer would have been the man, he was solid, and as a friend told me yesterday, he was one of the few who stood up to the corporate raiders.

but, we can not overlook that his crusades against organized prostitution rings hurt other johns, i mean clients, like him, it was highly hipocritical to say, i m going to go after u for banging these broads, but im going to get to bang them myself. thats just not cool on the part of client #9. he was as puritanical as kenn starr on the public front, and on his private life he was banging away like James Taylor.

it reminds one of the robert duvall character from a handmaid's tale.

Being called an ignorant slut before noon is certainly invigorating. Thanks, Andrew!

What? Spitzer has AIDS?

woah. slog is attracting some nasty comments today.

I'm sorry, but while it's not great he:

a. cheated on his wife;
b. committed a crime in another state (if you can call DC that); and
c. probably won't be re-elected ...

I still fail to see what this has to do with his job of being the elected Governor.

It's not like he slept with an aide or a lobbyist ... like President MoreWar McCain has.

nooooooooooooooooooooo!

Yep, raindrop can always be counted on to bring the stupid.

Whether or not prostitution should be legal is irrelevant. It is currently illegal, Spitzer has a history of prosecuting people for it, and his involvement with a criminal enterprise that was engaged in tax fraud totally destroys any claim he once had to integrity. This is not amount sexual morality, it's about violations of basic ethical behavior. Spitzer should resign and should be given the same hard-nosed prosecutorial tactics that he used himself.

It's sad, because Spitzer is someone I would have liked to see be our next US AG, though knowing what we do now I'm damn glad he's never going to get the chance. After eight years of corruption in the Justice Department we can't afford appointing a corrupt AG.

And yeah, he was probably set up. So what? He's still guilty, guilty, guilty.

He needs to resign. Not because he fucked a prostitute, but because he bungled the whole thing. And if you follow New York politics, he's bungled quite a few things there, too.

He's a big disappointment.

If the entire thing was orchestrated by the Bush Justice department it still doesnt explain why he is paying money to have sex. discovering something factual because you have an axe to grind doesnt mean that it was made up.