don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time…

Posted on Monday 10 March 2008

I had hoped to keep my mouth shut until the Democratic Candidacy was decided. I don’t believe that my own choices in this race are particularly important. Instead, my focus has been and remains the treasonous government of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. And I had hoped to wait to weigh in when their heir, John McCain, fired up against whomever the Democrats select. But this news today got to me. From Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York:
SPITZER: We sought to bring real change to New York, and that will continue. Today, I want to briefly address a private matter. I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family, that violates my — or any — sense of right and wrong. I apologize first, and most importantly, to my family. I apologize to the public, who I promised better. I do not believe politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas, the public good, and doing what is best for the state of New York. But I have disappointed myself and I have failed to live up to the standard I accepted of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family. I will not be taking questions, thank you very much. I will report back to you in short order. Thank you very much.
It was the apology that got me – not the act. Whatever lead him to go the high class hooker route is his business. I’ll admit that it is remarkably arrogant for a reform governor to do something so absolutely foolish. It almost sounds like he’s either a person looking to get caught or a mammoth narcissist who thinks he’s immune from accountability. But it’s the apology that really takes the cake. "I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family." What the hell does that mean? Is his heavy hitting corporate lawyer wife a moron? Are she and his three adolescent daughters going to trust him again? It can’t be possible that there’s any remorse here other than the remorse of getting caught red-handed. "But I have disappointed myself and I have failed to live up to the standard I accepted of myself."

Governor Spitzer has damaged the Democratic Party, not just in New York, but in the country. It’s just putting gasoline on the fire lit by President Clinton a decade ago. And the feigned morality of his apology further undermines the image of the American politician. It’s not his sexual dalliance that stands before us. It’s his "I got caught" ergo "I’m sorry" apology that stinks to high heaven. Bill Clinton did not have the integrity to stand down. Let’s hope Eliot Spitzer does. And let’s also hope he can find some way to help wife Silda. That ‘after’ photograph is haunting…

 

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