Home » Archives » March 2008 » Thud!
[Previous entry: "Bon Voyage, Night Hawk"] [Next entry: "A Whole New Angle To "Ginger Versus Mary Ann""]
03/12/2008: "Thud!"
That sound you just heard was that of the corpse of soon-to-be-former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's political career slamming into the pavement. Earlier today, he effectively tossed that career off the roof, opting to resign his office in the wake of a brewing scandal in which he is listed as a frequent client of a high-dollar prostitution ring.
Spitzer, who rode to power on the back of a strong law-and-order platform, at least stepped up and faced his issues.
"Over the course of my public life, I have insisted -- I believe correctly -- that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself."
Of course, you could successfully argue that he had no real choice. When you stand on a soapbox and make as many enemies as he has, chasing the very criminals he's now become, you're not going to get a lot of sympathy.
We may never know what drove Spitzer to his downfall, whether bad judgement or addiction or arrogance, but he's done the only honorable thing he could do to serve the people who elected him one last time. The lieutenant governor will be sworn in on Monday, and the business of the state can once again move forward. Spitzer, meantime, will have put himself in a much better position to negotiate some kind of deal to at least bring the potential charges down to misdemeanor level, and will be able to pursue a resolution to his legal issues in relative anonymity.
To be sure, a cautionary tale to all those who would seek power - make no mistake, it corrupts ... 
