CR,
You are way too focused on the hypocrisy issue. Tell me of one politician whom you could not criticize as hypocritical. We happen to know more about Spitzer's personal life is the only difference. The man is extremely intelligent about political matters and a good politician advocates positions at odds with his personal views, just like attorneys do the same in court every day. Do you think the attorney who defended the guy in Cleveland approves of rape?
The politician's job is to advocate for the welfare of all his constituents, not for his own personal welfare, just like the attorney's job is to advocate his client's positions, not his own personal views. In this regard Spitzer did the job he was supposed to do and which the voters in New York elected him to do.
Patron is correct that Spitzer's regular whom he took on Caribbean trips has said she looked forward to the bookings. She knew who Spitzer was, unlike the dippy Ashley Dupree. She said that she was engrossed by talking politics with him because he was so smart and knowledgeable. Sort of like the student with a crush on the professor.
he is also an arrogant, self-serving, smug, condescending, pompous, hypocritical, egotistical pol.
The adjectives you used to describe Spitzer can be applied to most successful politicians and in that sense it is your post that is somewhat hypocritical. Sanford from South Carolina is another guy for whom we can argue many of the same things. Not to mention many, many others. Spitzer is probably by far the most talented politician that was scandalized in US political history, and it was all over banging HDH, adult, escorts. Something that many very successful people do every day, but go on in their lives and jobs with no scandals hanging over their heads. That is the hypocrisy.
I think the voters in New York City understand that. I think right now Weiner has bigger problems than Spitzer does. He is another guy to whom you can apply all these adjectives. We also should not leave out the various scandalized Republican politicians like Foley and Craig and the Democrat McGreevey, who were getting their dicks sucked by young boys or trying to. Spitzer did not commit any crime. He used his own personal monies for his escorting activities, and this showed that he understood his private life is his private life.
Here is the top 20 Republican sex scandals in the past 20 years, I would rate Spitzer towards the bottom of this list, if he was a Republican, on the hypocrisy meter:
http://www.alternet.org/story/14093...op_sex_scandals_of_the_past_20_years?page=0,1
Regarding Craig:
"This scandal had everything: failed attempts at sex in the seediest location imaginable; fumbling mishaps with law-enforcement agents; and one of the all-time greatest coverup lies told by any politician. Admit it: When you heard that Craig had been arrested for allegedly playing footsy with a cop in an airport bathroom stall, you heard a muted trumpet in your head going, "Waaah, waaaah, waaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Craig's subsequent denial of the charges was classic as well, as he said he only rubbed the cop's foot for five minutes because he employed a "wide stance" while sitting on the toilet."
Spitzer made no ridiculous public denials. He resigned almost immediately and even cooperated with the filmmakers of "Client #9", a documentary on the scandal. The US attorney's office found no prosecutable criminal conduct. It's a lock he would have been prosecuted if tax dollars had been used in any way on his hobbying adventures. It also should be noted that Spitzer was being investigated for tax evasion which is why the Feds caught him in the 1st place. They also found nothing on that complaint either, which likely came from one of the many dirty scoundrels Spitzer brought down.
