Governor Spitzer's Career Gets Heave-Ho

Before he was a talk show host Jerry Springer was a politician and while he was Mayor of Cincinnati he engaged the services of a prostitute and paid her with a check that bounced.

Elliot Spitzer could have learned something from Springer that any philandering traveling salesman knows all to well: when you hire a call girl, pay cash.

I had a difficult time working my way into caring about Spitzer except for the pure Schadenfreude of the whole sordid affair. Seems like if his wife can forgive him, it’s none of anyone’s else's business. After all, Louisiana Senator David Vitter still has a job despite a prostitute’s claim that they had an affair.

Now I’ve changed my mind on Spitzer, but not because of morality. Spitzer deserved to go because he’s a dumb ass. Not that he’s not intelligent, but Spitzer has obviously demonstrated behavior that is exasperatingly stupid.

You might think that the Governor of New York was caught as a by-product of an investigation of the high-priced prostitution enterprise called Emperor's Club VIP, but no, it was actually the other way around.

Spitzer was caught as a result of routine examination of financial transactions, large and small, conducted by computer programs that pass suspicious activity along to the IRS for further review. As a Governor, Spitzer was designated as a PEP or “politically exposed person” and therefore subject to additional scrutiny.

When he was New York’s Attorney General, Spitzer was partially responsible for the implementation of these systems because he used them to gather data on Wall Street investments firms.

Across town, his friend from Emperor’s Club has been outed by the New York Times (that's her photo above):

“I just don’t want to be thought of as a monster,” the woman said as she told the tiniest tidbits of her story.

“Born Ashley Youmans but now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupré, she spoke softly and with good humor as she added with significant understatement: ‘This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated.’”

I wonder if her rates have gone up.

Elliot Mess: NY Governor Spitzer Caught With Pants Down

Being a politician's wife takes a special brand of moxie, especially when their husband gets nabbed in a sex scandal and the are forced to do the walk of shame and follow them out standing dutifully by their side as they face the cameras.

Silda Spitzer is the latest in a long series of women forced to endure this public humiliation as her husband, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer made a cryptic announcement following the New York Time article that linked him to a prsotitution ring.

“I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong,” said Spitzer, “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better.”

You'd think the whole inident is bad enough without rubbing it in by making her drink deep the ordeal live on cable news and in front of mroe than 100 reporters in person. The conventional wisdom seems to be, if his wife can put up with it, so should the rest of us, but I'd have more respect for anyone in this position if they let the Mrs skip the news conference.