Hypocrisy - Thy Name Is Spitzer

I'm mad as hell. How could Eliot Spitzer do this to his family, his supporters and the Democratic Party? For the last couple of years, we've seen case after case where Republican officials painted themselves as lily-white, while engaging in a variety of sleazy activities in their own personal lives. Now we learn that Spitzer has done the same thing!

It was revealed yesterday that Spitzer has been a client of a ritzy high-dollar prostitution ring (as recently as last month). Federal investigators have the New York Governor on tape requesting the services offered by the ring. Then he met with a prostitute named Kristen for a two-and-one-half hour tryst in a hotel room. He paid her $4300.

Personally, I don't care if someone buys sex. There have always been prostitutes and probably always will be -- regardless of what the law says. I would not oppose its legalization. If this had been a "good-time Charlie" (of either party) who was honest about his actions, I would not be upset.

But I do care about hypocritical behavior, and Spitzer is guilty of it. He has spent many years painting himself as a "straight-arrow" kind of guy, whose actions are the same as his words. As Attorney General, he oversaw the busting of prostitution rings and righteously told us how wrong it was. Now we learn he was lying to us.

In his rather wussy apology (if that's what it was), he wouldn't even admit what he had done. He just said he's failed to live up to his standards of right and wrong. That's crap! Values are not determined by words, but by actions. And when your words and actions don't jibe, that's called hypocrisy.

When Republicans were found to be guilty of this same kind of hypocrisy, I called for their resignation. Now I do the same for Spitzer.