Stand By Their Man

A lot of people are wondering why Mrs. Spitzer stood with Mr. Spitzer as he confessed to marital infidelity to the nation. Many supposed she should be out looking for a divorce attorney.

For shame for shame. Mrs. Spitzer decided to stand by her man. I salute her for that, the cynical say she is hoping to caboose onto bigger things for herself. Yeah, perhaps and so what? Marriages are about giving support and boosts to the other. The vow husband and wife swear to each other is for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, till death do us part. Mrs. Spitzer takes her vows seriously.

At the end of Mozart's Le Nozze Di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro - a story that eternally rings true) Count Almaviva (Elliot Spitzer) finds what he thinks is Figaro messing around with the Countess. Count Almaviva immediately is angered and starts looking for weapons and summoning witnesses. Then the true Countess (Silda Spitzer) reveals herself dressed in Susanna's clothes (Figaro's wife) and it is revealed that Susanna is wearing the clothes of the Countess. The Count is humbled and begs for the forgiveness he was just denying to the woman he thought his wife and to Figaro.

Susanna: Perdono! Perdono! Pardon! Pardon!
Count Almaviva No, no, non vo' darlo!. No! No! I will not give it!
Figaro: Perdono! Perdono! Pardon! Pardon!
Count Almaviva No, no, non vo' darlo!. No! No! I will not give it!
All: Perdono! Perdono! Pardon! Pardon!
Count Almaviva No, no, non vo' darlo!. No! No! I will not give it!

After the ruse is revelead:
Count Almaviva: Contessa, perdono! Countessa, Pardon!
The Countess: Più docile io sono, - e dico di sì. I am gentler, and I grant it you.
see: this site for the complete lyrics in Italian and the English translation.

Eliot Spitzer's life has been only No, no, non vo' darlo! and when he needs pardon he gets Più docile io sono, - e dico di sì.. How fortunate he is. God Bless you Silda Spitzer and may your loving forgiveness teach your husband a lesson.

I do not suppose her a doormat, I suppose the atmosphere in their home is tense and will take time to ease, I do not suppose either of their roles are easy right now.

Anyway in celebration of mercy and love here is the final scene of Le Nozze Di Figaro:

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?

Violating Public Covenants in Private

Eliot Spitzer falls.

At National Review Online Jonah Goldberg discusses how we should view this case. Essentially Jonah comes down on the side of judgment, noting Spitzer's misdeeds are now public so we have no choice to judge:

Still, to say that something is a "private matter" is not the same thing as saying something is beyond the scope of our judgment. If Tom is a drunk, it may be a private matter but that hardly means I must approve of his "lifestyle." If one of my married friends was repeatedly visiting hookers, I might say for the sake of social peace that it's none of my business, but I would still think much less of him. And, if he became more and more brazen — and hence more and more humiliating for the man's wife and family — the more likely it would become that I would feel compelled to say something.

Source: The Corner – Judging Spitzer by Jonah Goldberg Clearly, Jonah strikes a sensible and just balance.

A reader e-mails Jonah reminding us wedding vows (which are what Mr. Spitzer broke among other things) are public affairs. Weddings must be witnessed, they must be conducted by an official duly authorized by the state, they are licensed by the state, and when they break down it is often the state who helps to sort the wreckage out and the state may become responsible for one or more people.

Eliot Spitzer showed an incredible lack of judgment. Being former attorney general of New York has to realize the connections prostitution often has with the mob and the fact he put himself into an extortable position:

"I [Rep. Peter King R-NY] don't know anyone who is more self-righteous or unforgiving than Eliot Spitzer. So he's going to have a hard time finding friends right now...

"Spitzer himself was very severe going after prostitution rings that had to do with white collar crimes. He was very hard-nosed with his tactics. To leave himself open to blackmail — putting himself and the state in a compromised position like that — it's just awful."

Source: The Corner – Self-righteous and unforgiving. by David Freddoso

Eliot Spitzer is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of New York. While most executives prioritize what laws they enforce it is hardly a good thing to violate those laws, especially ones he has gone after.

As far as private citizen Eliot Spitzer goes I think him a lout who betrayed the trust of his wife and children.