Keepin' it in your pants.

By The Armorer on March 11, 2008 | | Comments (16)

So, we find that another powerful man has succumbed to the temptations of power and wealth.

And another woman is shackled to her politician husband as he confesses on national television how much he's let down his family.

Ah, would that he'd thought of that earlier - but it seems one of the diseases of power is a belief that those rules are for the other guy. You know which other guy - the ones you put in jail for breaking (or, in this case providing the service you took advantage of) the laws, etc.

Personally, I think he should resign. If his wife and daughters want to forgive him, fine, he doesn't need to be Governor to be forgiven... It's not like the party in power in the state is going to lose that power (nor should they, for this is a personal failing) and if the people of New York want to "forgive" him, so to speak, let him "run for redemption."

While I also think President Clinton should have resigned/been let go for baldly lying to the public and the special prosecutor regarding l'affaire Lewinsky (though perhaps not for the affair itself), this is a fundamentally different proposition.

The Senator Craig situation is a little different, although I think he should have honored his announced intent to resign.

Yes, I do think things like this are corrosive, in small ways, to the fabric of society. Just another cut here and there, especially as the mighty seem to escape consequences the mass of us would not.

At least Governor Spitzer has acknowledged what he did. Senator Craig is on rather weaker ground. I hope his constituents send him packing when next given the opportunity.

Much is expected from those to whom so much is given.

And just once, just once, I would love to see the stony-faced humiliated woman step to the microphone and say "You sorry b@st@rd. How *dare* you put me in this position!" and storm off.

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16 Comments

By Jon The Mechanic on March 11, 2008 6:26 AM
As a prisoner of the Democratic party in NY, I have to say that from what I know of the man and having seen how he reacts to criticism, we may have to storm the castle to drag him out by his hair. I hold him in much more contempt than Larry Craig, because he used to be the chief prosecutor for NY and I can just imagine the glee and pure joy that would have been in his voice if he had managed to sink his claws into a Republican who found themselves in the spot he is in. I'm looking into recall rules in NY this week.
 
By LT Nixon on March 11, 2008 6:41 AM
Meh...Sex Scandals in politics are nothing new. I'm not going to get too worked up about this one. The guy is clearly a hypocrite, however. Sadly, this has became the standard for politicians and not the exception.
 
By fdcol63 on March 11, 2008 7:30 AM
Considering today's environment of very limited privacy, 24/7 media coverage, and polarized partisan opposition research, I personally think that someone who does something like this has 2 other behavioral traits instead of the hubris to think he won't get caught: 1) A fetish for the adrenaline rush of the danger of getting caught. 2) A deep-seeded self-destructive desire, wherein he actually wishes to be caught.
 
By fdcol63 on March 11, 2008 7:32 AM
"Deep-seeded" or "deep-seated"? I get confused.
 
By Boquisucio on March 11, 2008 8:56 AM
Well, if the seed was stuck somewhere deep, it ain't no more. I bet you'll find it somewhere shallow at the Mayflower's rubbish heap. As I see it, it is not the salacious acts themselves that cast these powerful men into trouble, but the breaking of other dead-serious laws, while in the pursuit of such libertine acts. Our 41st President got himself impeached for Perjuring himself before Officials of the Court - PERIOD. The New York Governor is now in a pickle for at least two things: 1) Interstate Trafficking and Solicitation of Prostitution and Debauchery. Title 18 Part I Chapter 117 Section 2421, Transporting and individual across state lines for the purpose of engaging in prostitution is forbidden. That AMTRAK ticket between NYC and Union Station should plainly put that in evidence. 2) Structuring Transactions. Title 31 Section 5324 of the U.S. Code, strictly forbids cloaking the untented purpose of bank transaction for the purpose of evading reporting requirements to the IRS. This apparently was done by the chief enforcer of law in the State of New York.
 
By NBAllen on March 11, 2008 10:17 AM
John, The (dis)Honorable Senator Craig is not expected to run for re-election. His current term expires in 2009. My opinion - Regardless of what he actually did in the airport, his clear in-ability to honorably and honestly handle an embarrassing situation disqualifies him from service. Pugnacious stupidity, indeed! By not resigning, he deprives our current Republican governor of appointing the Lt Gov. (also Republican) to fill the seat and thus holding "incumbency" in the next election. The Lt Gov. twisted the legislatures arm into approving a 1-year property tax relief, in exchange for a 20% increase in the sales tax...then assessed property values ~doubled! Now we have the same or higher property tax and the increased property tax. Nathaniel
 
By FbL on March 11, 2008 11:08 AM
"Standing by my man" I can understand to a certain extent in cases of an affair. As awful and painful as it must be for the wife, arguments can be made about falling out of and into love, of sudden self-revelation and regret, and of having let a situation slowly get out of hand. I personally would probably leave a husband who has repeatedly cheated on me to face the press himself, but I can see why some women wouldn't. But in this case... wow. The message he has sent her is--"You can't satisfy me sexually; I'd rather do it with a possibly disease-carrying stranger than with you." And yet she still stands there next to him to continue to be shamed? WOW! I've been accused of undercutting and underestimating/underselling myself, but I have enough self-respect to not allow a man who has made a fool of me continue to use me in front of the entire world. Just seeing a picture of the two of them makes me feel so dirty I need a shower.
 
By XBradTC on March 11, 2008 11:44 AM
Boq, I wasn't aware that George H.W. Bush was impeached. Perhaps you mean 42?
 
By Boquisucio on March 11, 2008 12:45 PM
Ooops my bad. Didn't meant to imply that the 40th's V.P. was a compulsive liar.
 
By KCSteve on March 11, 2008 12:52 PM
A few months back they had a fun situation in China. At a live television event for the upcoming Olympics the wife of one of the bigwigs came up to the microphone. There was some puzzlement because she wasn't scheduled to speak but hey, she's the wife of a bigwig and a pretty heavy hitter in her own right so... So, she makes a nice little statement thanking everyone for attending the event and then proceeds to detail the affair she just found out her husband was having. Wouldn't give up the microphone until she'd had her say either. Sounds like a great lady to me.
 
By Andrew on March 11, 2008 3:29 PM
The problem this case has is the NY Gov is the person who takes the oath to execute the law of NY State. Its also likely that any prostitute who is charging over $5,000 an hour has connections to organized crime. So is the NY Gov (and as the attorney general before) not going after certain organizations due to their ability to expose his illegal activities? This "victimless" crime suddenly has real victims if justice was denied by his inactions as Gov or AG because others knew what he was doing.
 
By AFSister on March 11, 2008 8:18 PM
Infidelity does not make you a bad leader. It just makes you a bad husband. That being said.... our leaders are held to a higher moral, ethical, and legal standard than the general public. So is the military. When you hold a public office, you represent your people, and I'm pretty sure his people don't want to be viewed as accepting of adultery. This is the same reason I stepped down as a Sunday School teacher when I was going through my divorce. My actions did not support the Bible or God's teachings, and I knew that once the church found out, they would ask me to step down, so I quit on my own. It was the right thing to do, and even though I really miss teaching Sunday School, I still stand by that decision. Clinton should have stepped down as president over his infindelity, (Monica, Jennifer, and a couple others I can't remember), and so should Spitzer and Craig.
 
By Russ on March 11, 2008 11:56 PM
"Infidelity does not make you a bad leader." AFSister, I have to strongly disagree. Infidelity means that you are willing to break an Oath for a little pleasure. Since when are oath-breakers trustworthy?
 
By AFSister on March 12, 2008 11:42 AM
Taking an oath is only a small portion of being a great leader. There are many people who hold leadership positions who are terrible leaders. How many of us have worked for bosses we consider to be unworthy of the position? Does that automatically make them an adulterer? No. Not any more than being an adulterer makes you a bad leader. There are many qualities that come with being a good leader. Keeping promises (or not breaking oaths, as you put it) is only one of those qualities. There are no perfect leaders who possess all of the qualities that make a great leader, but there are excellent leaders who possess many of the qualities that make a great leader. Look at Reagan- he met Nancy while married to another woman and he became what many people consider to be one of the greatest presidents ever.
 
By Cricket on March 12, 2008 11:43 AM
I wonder where Hillary would be today if she had done it...stepped up to the mic and told Willie Jeff just that. Which constituency would have supported her? The single moms? The feminists? The traditional family types? I wish she had. What kind of a message did she send by taking the cr*p her husband dished out?
 
By AFSister on March 12, 2008 1:27 PM
Cricket- I completely concur.