H 23°, L 4° | Tomorrow: 
H 21°, L 6°Two days ago, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, D-N.Y., apologized to the public after he was caught on a federal wiretap discussing meeting and paying a prostitute in a hotel in our nation�s capital. He said he had betrayed the trust of his family and the public, even though he refused to address the scandal itself. He abruptly left the stage after refusing to take any questions.
This, the latest episode in a series of scandals involving politicians and people of high ranking, raises many questions � the most pressing of which is, should a person resign when caught committing an act contrary to his message or stated beliefs? In Mr. Spitzer�s case, the answer is quite simple: Yes. Not only did he betray the trust of the public, but he also broke both state and federal law, namely the Mann Act, a century-old act prohibiting the interstate trafficking of women for �immoral purposes.�
Yet a variation of the question persists: Had Mr. Spitzer not broken the law, should he still resign from office simply because he broke the people�s trust in him? Some might say that since this betrayal has no effect on the governor�s ability to perform his job, he should not resign.
But Mr. Spitzer did run on the platform of his success as a crime-fighting attorney general who prosecuted the mob, corporate corruption and yes, prostitution rings. The platform that the electorate chose him on turned out to be filled with lies. He must resign.
Mr. Spitzer�s situation is not a unique one, though. Most of us can still remember Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who was caught in a police sting in the Minneapolis airport. And even though he pleaded guilty and failed to have his plea overthrown, he went back and forth on whether or not he would resign. In the end, he decided to serve the full length of his term. Now, had Mr. Craig ran as a homosexual and been elected, there would be no need for him to resign. However, since he betrayed the public�s trust and lied during his campaign, he should have owned up to his actions and resigned with dignity, instead of staying in office with shame.
In the last 10 years, at least nine prominent politicians have been caught up in sex scandals, and only three resigned from office. Without exception, these politicians ran as honorable and truthful leaders, only to be later exposed as liars and hypocrites. They gave numerous excuses and lengthy apologies, but were rarely brave enough to man up and step down.
There are those who call for complete separation between the private lives of politicians and their careers. They say a politician should be judged by his record, not by his personality or personal affairs. At best, this is an oversimplification of a complex issue.
Politicians are leaders who represent their constituencies and should therefore be the best representatives in every aspect of their lives. The nature of politics blurs the line between what is private and public, and a higher standard should be upheld in both realms.
Furthermore, politicians are not the only outlets of higher scrutiny when they betray the public�s trust. Prominent civil rights activists, religious figures and athletes have their share of these scandals, and even after they apologize and disappear from the public spotlight, the damage they inflict is largely irreparable.
In situations like Mr. Spitzer�s, it is imperative we make the distinction between the person and the establishment he or she belongs to. Just because politicians are caught doing something that contradicts the message of the party does not mean the party itself is hypocritical. The person alone should bear the burden of his actions and should be brave enough to bear the results of his actions. If a public leader cannot do this, he no longer deserves to lead.
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Ammar Al Marzouqi ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in computer engineering.
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While you make some good points, I disagree fundamentally with the position. By the way, you make in insinuation that Spitzer was involved in orchestrating the ring; all evidence, as of now, is pointing to him simply being a client.
Americans tend to be way oversensitized by sex. Gov. Spitzer has done a great job and has been a maverick in eliminating organized crime in his state. So if he wants to have sex while away from his wife in DC, it does not eliminate the benefits that his state recieves from having him in office. While he may be hypocritical, his governorship is beneficial, and that, for the most part, is all that should matter. If this were a Mark Foley incident, I would agree with you, but its not. This man simply did what politicians have been doing for years: having sex on the side.
Lets get over our repulsion with sex scandals and start forcing people to resign who are involved in real scandals. We certainly dont have a lack of them now: Blackwater, Abu Graib, Alberto Gonzalez, misspent Iraqi-contracted money, misspent Katrina relief money, etc. In the grand scheme of things, having sex with a prostitute seems too individual/unimportant to focus on.
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Finally, the Whore of Babylon cometh to spill her seed upon the blasphemous Demoncrats. While the godly Larry Craig and Ted Haggard wither under the false attacks of the liberal media, may every whore diamond that “Kristen” earned come back tenfold in punishment upon those who dare sully our sacred American government with overactive penile dalliances! - Germain Q. Stemme
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We live in glass houses in this country with big buckets of rocks at our disposal
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“having sex with a prostitute seems too individual/unimportant to focus on”
I agree, it is the illegal currency transactions I have the biggest problem with.
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I would like to also point out that Eliot Spitzer is a Jew and that his conduct is a demonstration of the Jewish agenda to dominate the world by subverting the morals of humanity. This is consistent with the mandates set forth in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is to seduce the masses in a way that causes them to shed their sexual morality.
The West must turn away from the Jew and embrace the wisdom and sanctity of Islam. Only through Allah can one be redeemed.
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decent point except prostitution is against the law, even for politicians..
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I wonder what those who stood up so loudly for Senator David Vitters NOT to step down are now saying about Gov. Sptitzer. Hypocrisy abounds.
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Looks like he was prosecuting while prostituting.
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“Gov. Spitzer has done a great job.”
Regardless of what you think about the scandal, that statement is horribly false. One of Spitzer’s key campaign pledges was to reform the state budget process. While the state did pass a budget on schedule in 2007, Spitzer’s budget quickly turned into a deficit, as by the end of October it was projected the state would run a deficit exceeding $4 billion for the year. During Spitzer’s first year the state payroll increased, aggravating budget problem. Despite increasing the public sector payroll, in late 2007 New York State started leading the nation in lost jobs.
And that’s just on ONE issue…there are plethora of others including: the state police scandal (keeping tabs on Bruno), allowing illegal immigrants drivers licenses etc.
Goodbye and good riddance Spitzer.
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5:12 your comment is ridiculous. You mean to tell me this guy can effectively govern with this sex scandal going on? It’s too much of a distraction! He couldn’t effectively govern in the first place! What benefits are the state even getting with him in office now?
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Sorry 5:12 but you’re totally missing the point. This issue is NOT about sex. It’s about breaking the law.
When Eliot Spitzer took the oath of office here he raised his right hand and said;
“I [Eliot Spitzer] do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of New York, …”
As governor of the Empire State, Spitzer was the states top law enforcement officer. He was not above the law, he was the chief enforcer/protector of the law.
When he - or any governor or any President commits a felony, it’s time to go. They are in unique positions with respect to law enforcement.
In New York, prostitution is a felony. What law will he think he is above next?
You can’t badger people out of office and out of jobs by innuendo and threatened prosecution for years, then when you reach the highest position in the state do what you damn well please.
I feel for his family deeply. But this arrogant ass got what he deserved.
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Spitzer’s governship was far from “beneficial,” he followed around a political rival using state police, he messed up the budget while promising to balance it, increased taxes, and tried to give illegal immigrants driver licenses’s. Even Dems in Albany don’t like him, I don’t see any coming to his defense in the State Senate. When he was AG, he attacked innocent wall street exec’s for the sake of getting PR like Hank Greenberg, let alone intimidating journalists who spoke out against him. So for his all his busting of organized crime, he caused more problems for NY state. He’s a disgrace and I’m glad he is out of office.
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First off, this article seems to imply that it wasn’t a forgone conclusion that Spitzer would resign. It was obvious that he would. But it is not because of “private affairs,” it is because he violated the law.
The idea that a politician cannot have wild crazy sex and still govern is a purely American concept. If you think really hard about it, it makes no sense that we would care what a politician does in his bedroom, even if you are personally repulsed by the idea of adultery. If you can be friends with a man who has relationship issues, you can be ruled be one too.
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Badger Herald, please erase 9:16am’s comment.
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“I would like to also point out that Eliot Spitzer is a Jew and that his conduct is a demonstration of the Jewish agenda to dominate the world by subverting the morals of humanity. This is consistent with the mandates set forth in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is to seduce the masses in a way that causes them to shed their sexual morality.
The West must turn away from the Jew and embrace the wisdom and sanctity of Islam. Only through Allah can one be redeemed.”
When did Nazis start posting here?
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The Nazis didn’t believe in Allah, although the the Sunni Baathists are great admirers of the Nazis. They have similar “solutions” to the “Jewish Problem”.
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I don’t believe the anti-Jewish comments are being posted by Nazis. They sound more like some Muslim that can’t get laid, so he has to jump at such opportunities to direct his anger at a demographic that has nothing to do with his sexual dysfunction.
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Hmmm, except I must say that the previous poster makes one critical and awful mistake: Spitzer’s role as a client should NOT be swept under ANY rug! His actions should never be excused simply because he is a client, he is a politician, he is a man…That’s ridiculous. This is supposed to be the twenty-first century. We must recognize the tie between sex trafficker-trafficked victim-client. None of those categories would exist without the other, and to varying degrees of involvement, clients are just as to blame as traffickers. Without a market, there would be no product or service. Also, while his infidelities to his family and wife are his own business, the stance the previous poster takes is repugnant: since when should men continue to be excused for their stupidity? Let’s move past the “he’s-a-politician-and-it’s-always-been-like-this-so-let’s-excuse/ignore/accept-it” routine…and realize that there are others that have the potential to do as good a job, if not better, as Spitzer in serving his constituency.