These are More Than Spin

They are not just spinning the ball they are spitting on it too.

We are hearing a lot on Eliot Spitzer and the usual lines: "its just sex", "everyone does it", and that old favorite about how in Europe this sort of thing is barely mentioned and if at all on the back-page of the newspaper.

They are not just applying spin, they are applying spit too.

In Europe This is no big Deal

Yeah and so what? This is not Europe. In any event, I do not buy the premise.

Recent European Sex Scandals

1. Here is a European political sex scandal from 2006.


2. Here is another from 2007.


3. Am I done yet? Nope, here is a very current one from Greece.

Spending more time would likely yield some more, but I stop with three. So, the claim that in "enlightened Europe" sexual misconduct by political officials never amounts to anything is demonstrably false. They do get attention and cause problems for those caught up in them, even in "sophisticated and enlightened Europe".

It is just sex

Is it? If you read the articles I link to above, you will note the word extort in its various forms and the word blackmail. Eliot Spitzer is the chief executive of a state and not just any state but one of the more important states in the Union and what he and his government does affects the rest of the nation. If you do not believe that, ask former employees of the Strong Company.

Eliot Spitzer put himself into a compromised position that affected his personal life, his political life, and the lives of those he leads and the nation which his state is the financial cornerstone for. He should know the mob is keenly interested in the affairs of politicians and is most likely keenly interested in photographs of people like him in compromising situations.

In any event, at the start it was not about at all about sex, but rank corruption. Is Elliot Spitzer corrupt, was he on the take? Was he embezzling public funds for his trysts? I strongly suspect NO to both, but he was attempting to circumvent laws designed to prevent such acts and to prevent money laundering.

Everyone Does It

No they do not. Just remember what your mother asked if you friends jumped over a high cliff would you follow?.

The Backs of Others

El Baboso at the Belmont Club wonders:

As I thought about this last night, an interesting thought came to mind. Spitzer is supposed to be this hotshot DA. He put lots of businessmen away for money laundering, fraud, stealing from the shareholders, etc. He must have gone before a few judges for wiretaps. But then he doesn't know that if he is moving money from account to account and making big cash payments to an offshore corporation (which is how the Emperor's Club took its payments), the Feds wouldn't come after him? LOL! All of which begs [ed. NO, invites not begs] the questions:

* Is he that arrogant?
* Is he that stupid?
* Did he want to get caught?
* Is he a phony? A classically power-hungry sociopath who took all of the credit while his beaten-down minions did all of the work? [emphasis added]

Source: The Belmont Club – El Baboso's Commentary on "The ring" I think it is a combination of point 1 and 2 driven by point four. I wonder on how many backs the shoes of Eliot Sptizer are imprinted into?