This is sad
New York Governor Elliot Spitzer has "informed his most senior administration officials that he has been involved in a prostitution ring." The New York Times speculates that his involvement may consist of a rendezvous with a prostitute connected with the Emperors Club VIP. Last week, federal prosecutors arrested four members of that "ring."
Spitzer has been the scourge of wrongdoers and alleged wrongdoers of various stripes including, the Times recalls, members of a prostitution ring he broke up in 2004 while serving as a prosecutor. At the time he declared: "This was a sophisticated and lucrative operation with a multitiered management structure; it was, however, nothing more than a prostitution ring.” Thus, the usual liberal argument -- that the problem with frequenting prosititues is not immorality but hypocrisy -- shouldn't assist Spitzer.
Spitzer is already under investigation in connection with dirty tricks undertaken at the expense of Republican State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. His popularity has suffered from this investigation, as well as from the sense that he is far too arrogant to serve effectively. Indeed, Spitzer is probably the only hope New York Republicans have of retaining control of the New York State Senate, which was more or less rigged to ensure a Republican majority.
Spitzer is married with three children. I hope that Spitzer's involvement with the prostitute was a one-time mistake [note: it doesn't look that way], and not part of a pattern.
UPDATE: Fox News says that, according to "sources," Spitzer will resign.
MORE: Jim Geraghty reports that in a brief statement Spitzer said he "failed to live up to standards I set for myself" and did not mention resigning. Failure "to live up to standards I set for myself" seems like an odd way of describing Spitzer's conduct [note: Spitzer also said his conduct "violates my -- or any -- sense of right and wrong"]. Marital fidelity and adherence to the criminal law are more than just a self-imposed expectation, I would have thought.
JOHN adds: Given his aggressive and sometimes controversial prosecution of white collar crimes, including prostitution, and his hardball political methods, some will take satisfaction in Spitzer's downfall. Not me. It's a sad story, most of all for his family. Human frailty knows no political or social boundaries, and the consequences often fall most heavily on the innocent.
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