Here in Illinois, we investigate all our governors, regarless of party.
If she can’t get to the White House, might Hillary Clinton “settle” on running New York State?
Spitzer will resign today.
I have never seen anyone flame out so spectacularly.
I feel sorry for his wife. To be humiliated so publically by a philandering spouse must be awful, especially when she has to keep a brave face for the cameras.
I believe that you’d lose more voters than you would win. Their “contrition” arises from the political relaity that if they said, “Fuck yeah, I paid a prostitute, and I’d do it again,” they will lose net votes.
In his defense, he was acting as the legal advocate for the state. You cannot fairly impute to him any hypocrisy based on this.
Sure you can. He chose to, first, become attorney general, when he knew that by doing so, he’d be prosecuting prostitution rings, and second, to specifically target protstitution rings for investigation and prosecution.
But do you think anyone really believes their apologies anyway? I think that public perception of the imortance of a sex scandal (as long as it involves nothing but consenting adults) is affected by how much the accused public figure affords it himself. Big, sobbing clothes-rending press conferences make the accusations seem much more serious and grievous than they actually are. Now, obviously, I was being facetious about how brazen the accused should be, but I do think someone like Spitzer (or Larry Craig, for that matter) could go a long way towards surving something like this by publicly downplaying it and not dignifying it with any blubbering apologies (which, like I said, no one buys anyway). Just say, “That’s my private life and I’m not going to talk about it.” If it involves a misdemeanor charge, just cop to it, pay it and get it over with. Let the chips fall, but I honestly think that most people would consider it a non-issue if the accused was honest but essentially unapologetic. It’s not like the voters are any saints themselves.
A politician patronizing an escort service would not even be a news story in some countries. We should be that way too.
Politicians are ALWAYS going to have sex scandals, irregardless of party, marriage status, etc. It’s the nature of the job - a sex conquest to them is just as good as making a sizeable kickback. Think of it like any other addiction - the more you get, the more you want, especially as Mrs. politician looks more and more like Dorian Grey’s attic picture. (See Cinton, William Jefferson)
Spitzer won’t resign - there’ll be some half-assed “investigation” probably lead by his nemesis, Joe Bruno (who’s probably in severth heaven as I write) - it’ll drag on and on, and the final verdict will be - shame on you, Mr. Governor, but no charges will stick. Just another year in NYS politics…see the new one, same as the old one.
Yeah, I spelled Clinton wrong in the last thread - I’m a so-so typist.
If someone will front the money, I am willing to be the test subject to find out.
Ever read “Profiles In Courage”?
Keep her mouth shut to Tabloid reporters.
Jim McGreevey of New Jersey, just for starters. Hell, I’m old enough to remember Wilbur Mills. There is nothing new under the sun.
I disagree. Prosecutors make decisions all the time on whether to press a prosecution or not. That he did makes him a hypocrite.
Then why did McGreevy have to resign?
He wasn’t a DA. He was the Attorney General of the state of New York. He personally got involved in the prosecution of a prostitution ring targeting tourists. As the AG he did not need to get personally involved in the prosecution. There are plenty of lawyers under him or at the local level who could have done it. But he chose to get involved at get in front of the cameras. That is a hypocrite.
They weren’t investigating Spitzer. They were investigating a multi-million dollar illegal business that crossed state lines and solicited customers from overseas. Spitzer got caught on a wire tap as a customer. Just dumb luck. No Rove, sorry.
Mind if I offer my take?
Few people believe the apologies. But I think the public wants them anyway. People love having the opportunity to forgive or condemn each other, and that goes double for famous people. Maybe triple if the famous person has the kind of reputation Spitzer did.
You may be onto something. Vitter didn’t have to quit.
Maybe so. Then again, maybe the guy found it hard to confront what he was doing and what the knowledge of his actions would do to his family.