wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

As long as we're vilifying Eliot Spitzer, why stop there? He's the big story but not the only one. I'd like to know about clients numbers 1 through 8? Too often the rich and powerful get a pass where the rest of us have to face the music.

I was actually trying to get on air during this segment. I did not get through till the next segment which was focused more around legal issues regarding to the Spitzer debacle.

So I blogged about it here:
http://azeemkhan.info/2008/elliot-spitzer-a-reflection-of-society/

Feel free to leave a response on my site.

Thanks.

I can't help but wonder if the reason Spitzer was so good at going after liars and frauds is because he led a double-life? Sort of like "it takes one to know one." Several times in my life I've come across liars who are very good at spotting lying and cheating in others. Since they do it, they know how to spot it.

And I think it goes both ways. The liars and cheats on Wall Street that Spitzer went after must have know in their gut that Spitzer just had to have some sort of weakness or skeleton in his closet. Low and behold, it's the banking industry that caught onto his misdoings.

I feel many mixed feelings about Spitzer. As a woman, I feel insulted by his engaging in prostitution, and wish he had apologized specifically to all women.

Another part of me feels sad that we lost a good fighter in the battle against corporate greed.

And yet another part of me feels for the guy. He looks like a lost soul, someone who hit a midlife crisis year ago and never got out from under it. Seems like the rich jocks end up with mistresses when they hit their midlife crisis. And the powerful nerds end up going to prostitutes.

Spitzer should not resign. The right would like nothing better than for those on the left to fall on their swords over every petty misdemeanor. Taking the moral high road here is pointless and does not serve the people who elected him. To those who say he can't govern now, one has to ask why, when the people of New York seem in large part to not consider this so very important. Prosecute him for the crime, penalize him accordingly, and have done.

I don't know how anyone believes that the governor does not have to resign. This is not simply about sex, and it is definitely NOT a private matter. He has no credibility left--He has knowingly and methodically broken laws (laws that he zealously pursued--going after prostitution rings). This is hypocrisy of the highest order. The saddest part: the greedy guys on Wall Street, those that engage in human trafficking, the corrupt petty politicians in Albany--all gleeful.

Shocked! Shocked? Not so much. As far back as 4 years ago my husband met up with the web designer for Spitzer's favorite service (Emperor's Club?) at a lovely July 4th Bar B Q in Brooklyn. This was just after the NY Mag cover of the most expensive "escort" in NY cover. She, and her house and many other high level brothels were busted. When questioned how the Emperor's Club escaped, the web designer (and fill in phone guy) told my husband that they were protected by someone with a lot of juice. Guess who? We've been waiting for this bomb to drop for years. And we're just regular gossipy NYers. I Imagine there are a slew of folks outside the confines of the media that knew about this and thought it was going to come back and bite Mr. Law and Order in the end. Ironically, two years later, I served on the grand jury that indicted one of the houses of Ill repute that didn't have the NY AG to help them through their troubling times. Hubris.

I feel that a man with three daughters should show a bit more compassion for the fact that prostitutes, no matter how well compensated are also some one's daughters. I feel sadness for his wife and children. Foe him, I only feel contempt. And I am a dyed in the wool, bleedin' heart Liberal. But go away Eliot.

I think it's odd that anyone would say the spritzer should stay in office.

A. He prosecuted two prostitution rings. He had no problem putting those people behind bars - all the while he was probably getting some on the side.

Hypocrite.

The anti-prostitution laws may be an anachronism but as governor or any official you must follow them.

Failure to do so is grounds for suspicion that he might have done other illegal things.

And why should the public take the Law seriously when the highest official of the State doesn't?

What's good for the goose, Mr. Spritzer!

B. He was setting himself up for potential blackmail. The fact thate he wilfully took that risk shows that he's not fit for the public trust.

I can already hear the chorus: what about Bush? Then have a forum discussing his crimes.

This one's about Elliot Spritzer and he is accused of a crime which he happily convicted others for in furtherance of his career ambitions.

In fact if I was a lawyer for any of the people put behind bars by this man for being part of a prostitution ring, I would definitely look into overturning the verdicts.

I'm just surprised you weren't out of town, Brian...

When will arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic men with wealth and power realize they cannot have a wife and children, and a mistress (prostitute) too? And when will they learn that their wealth and title will not forever keep them invisible and shield them from reprisal when they commit grave indiscretions, and certainly break the law? What about the people who helped keep this quiet? They, too, should be brought to justice. I have heard that some men feel uncomfortable asking their wives, mothers of their children, to carry out sexual fantasies. This is one reason they turn to mistresses or prostitutes.

This is the hard time for Spitzer family. Many of americans have similar issue, hopefully Mr.spitzer can take care of this decently and not to repeat this in future. Mr.Spitzer should stay and ask people to forgive. Get himself punishment by doing some social service or get fined like general public, this is more than enough for high profile person. Very hard to get best politicians in this world. Cannot we excuse him?

Get more on the Spitzer scandal from the New York perspective. Check out Thirteen/WNET New York's special Spitzer report:
http://www.thirteen.org/insidethirteen/?p=24

The panel of guests include Andrea Bernstein, Political Director at WNYC; former New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern; Susan Arbetter, host of WHMT/Albany’s New York Now and Errol Louis, political columnist for the New York Daily News.

I have admired Spitzer a great deal, and I still admire his accomplishments; but there's no question in my mind that he should resign. If he doesn't, it will be one more bit of evidence indicating that politicians and public figures are above the law. As progressives, we should be doing everything we can to fight this supposition, which stretches from David Vitter through Larry Craig, Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, and Tom DeLay all the way to the White House. As Democrats we have decried corruption and lawbreaking among Republicans; we called for Vitters's resignation, for Craig's, and we have deplored the fact that they and others have not stepped down. It's a terrible and depressing precedent. It is, in fact, exactly the kind of precedent we have admired Spitzer for challenging. If he doesn't step down, and if we don't encourage him to, then we'd better be prepared to hold our tongues during the next Republican scandal.

Resign immediately.

Gov. Spitzer should NOT resign. When will this ridiculous obsession with our leaders' sex lives abate? This issue should be between him and his wife.

As far as the illegality is concerned, if prostitution were legalized sex workers would have protection and the sex business would not be run by criminals who have no regard for human life.

It would be far more productive if the real criminals, who cause the loss of lives of thousands of young men and the ruination of middle class and working class economic stability had resigned or better still, never come to power. Leave the man's personal life alone and let him run our state government for the good of ALL its citizens.

If only Governor Spitzer hadn't made it a point of his campaign to "clean up" the scandal-ridden state, I would say it was none of our business. If the allegations are true, I think that Spitzer, in light of his hypocrisy, should resign, It's so disappointing, and dirties not just his name, but his political party during a very important time.

He is the GOVERNOR not just a citizen when casting stones, it's a little different depending from what heights you cast them.

Let who is not guilty of sleeping around before marriage, never sweared ever, never lied CAST THE FIRST STONE.
Puritan americans will again be the joke in other countries.
Let the Spitzer household be the ones that forgive or reprimand and when they have ....that should be New York's verdict.
I am sure when Eliot Spitzer prosecuted/did his job he never did it claiming that he was perfect

I voted for Spitzer but was not pleased with his prosecutor-like style as Governor. Even so, I don't believe he should resign or be indicted in the court of public opinion when so little is known about the case & events. He clearly made political enemies, and I think there may be political decisions that were made when they decided to go after him. This case does not smell right to me. I want to know more about it. His personal addictions or sex life are not our concern, unless they affect his performance as governor.

If Spitzer resigns it should be because this is representative of other things wrong with him as our elected representative.

When it comes to my politicians, I don’t care if they like sex or who with. But I do have a reaction if they are patrons for paid sex if they once electively prosecuted others for the practice.

Still, it is the other forms of hypocrisy that matter to me far more.

When I voted for him I looked forward to promised moral consistency and Spitzer promised open and transparent government and public authority reform.

The bigger story the media should be covering is how morally consistent the governor is on the big issues. Had Spitzer been consistent and honest with what he promised he would not have supported the Atlantic Yards single-developer megadevelopment nor supported it in the way that he did.

Government used to prosecute and actually put people in jail for no-bid public authority funding and fixed deals yet Spitzer has worked hard to force Atlantic Yards down Brooklyn’s throat with all its no-bid benefits to Forest City Ratner preserved fully in tact.

Some would say with efficiency, that Atlantic Yards was a corrupt project corruptly supported. I do not begrudge anybody that language. It is not just Atlantic Yards. There is also eminent domain abuse generally which involves highly objectionable conduct engaged in by state officials.

I would feel more confident about who represents me if Spitzer resigns.

let he who is without sin cast the first stone!

who gets fired for breaking the law?

He should resign,any-one who holds themselves up as a champion crusader against corruption like he did has to be absolutely spotless,what a hypocrite.

I pray the Governor will resign quickly and avoid further tabloid headlines and humiliation of both his wife and daughters; also in order to deny the press and the public more hours of sordid print and air time. Let the State have a new governor and get about the business of governing. I am comfortable with David Paterson as governor of New York; I believe that he will bring character and the passion to get things done that will help calm the fever that exist in the New York legislature. Let's not wallow in this story any more than is necessary to move on.

What is the overall scope of this federal investigation that nets us a democratic governor as a customer to prostitution ring?

In light of the Bush administration's illegal attempts to subvert US Attorneys into playing up concocted cases against democrats (voter fraud and the like), coupled with passing on any follow-thru on legitimate cases against republican officials. One can only wonder if this Spitzer sting is tied into this bigger picture of using federal agencies to go after democrats.

Pay back for Brunno perhaps?

It should not make a difference whether he has good policies or bad ones. He broke the law and has a busted moral compass. How can we have a leader of our state be a person who has broken his most cherished and precious vows and broken the hearts of his loved ones. What kind of leader is that. Leaders lead by example by setting the way thru actions and he has acted in the opposite manner of a leader. Additionally, if he is willing to break the heart of his loved ones and breach their trust what is to stop him form doing ths same to us

HE HAS GOT TO GO

I think that Americans in general place too many moral restrictions on the issue of sex, which creates an underlying repression and aggression in our society. I believe that even if we don't agree with prostitution, we as a society have to accept what is, and protect the workers who do choose to engage in this work by legalizing it. I'm disappointed in Spitzer, but I don't think that this issue should be private and not public.

As shocking as the news is, we have to be careful not to make it into the wrong sort of distraction. (I appreciated the substantive conversations that arose from this on your show today.) This is largely a personal matter for the Spitzer family and there are worse crimes that go unpunished. That being said, what happened is a major disappointment. I don't think the governor can serve his post effectively from this point forward, but he should leave of his own accord, and not through impeachment. It might be best for him to leave office as soon as possible so that Albany and the rest of the state can continue focusing on the rest of its problems.

He should look up the word HUBRIS

He should submit his resignation.

He should go to the nearest tattoo parlor
and have the number 871 tattoed on his hand
so he never forgets.

I think Spitzer should NOT resign! It is a private matter between him and his wife.

Can Spitzer continue to lead the state? Irrespective of the moral question, the evidence of hypocrisy, and the criminal possibility, it seems unlikely that anything will get done in Albany until the capitol can move past the governor. So, in the public interest, the Governor needs to move over so New York can move on.

Eliot Spitzer has been a self-righteous moral cruisader and deserves to be held to a particularly high standard. He has ruined countles lives of white collar guys on Wall Street whose careers were trashed as Spitzer tried to make a name for himself by taking on corruption in the financial services industry. I am talking about the mid-tier guys who were accused and ultimately exonerated but not until AFTER their careers were destroyed and their families torn apart.

I hope Spitzer looses everything like the victims of his crusades!

1.Spitzer should look-up the word HUBRIS

2.He should submit his resignation.

3.He should visit a tattoo parlor and have
number 871 tattoed on his hand so he
never forgets.

Governor Spitzer should resign. What a disaster for the democratic party. He broke the law! This man, this supposed "white knight" is a public servant and former prosecutor sworn to uphold the law! What he did forever destroys any credibity he had with the public. For a man who stood on his moral high horse, preaching about ending corruption, to now partake in the very illegal activity he condemned, and further exacerbate his wrongdoing my shady financial transactions designed to hide is crime is repulsive. Oh, excuse me, I forgot to add "allegedly," even though he already admitted (vaguely) to wrongdoing. All this prostitution-is-a-victimless-crime-talk is rediculous. People who make that argument might as well be saying "boys will be boys." What a crock. For once, let us see him face the consequences of his arrogant, stupid, I-am-above-the-law actions. I am disgusted by what he did. He's embarassed the great state of New York and the democratic party.

I started w/the next paragraph, but actually, I want to put this first: In politics, nobody seems to consider that the person involved might actually learn something from being caught this way. Is it possible that being humbled & taken down a peg would make Spitzer a better governor? Could it make him less arrogant & combative? Sometimes good can come out of bad things.

Aside from that, I'm gonna come down firmly on the side of "I don't know." Well, I did just hear Joyce Purnick make a very good pragmatic point about whether Spitzer will be able to get anything done if he stays in office, & it sounds to me like the best argument in favor of resignation. What I'm neutral on is how much a politician's private sins should affect his or her holding office.

BTW, David Patterson used to be my state senator, & I think if he became governor, that might also be a good thing coming out of something bad. Although it's not really the way I'd want to see NY get its 1st black governor.

Well the last I heard prostitution was illegal and he got caught up in the net, why he was the only person outed in the investigation is another matter plain and simple. To further add a few logs to the fire, was he conducting this behavior while on the State's dime, if so then he should be looking at a much stricter punishment. He should at the least be prosecuted as if any poor slob plebeian were picked up for soliciting a hooker; it was not an extramarital affair which would be "the private matter" he referred to.

Ultimately most drugs and probably prostitution should be legalized as it is in a lot of other countries.

When I heard the news I was shocked and then the disappointment set in. I have been a supporter of Spitzer because of his reform agenda and the need to clean the Albany state house. This will not help move that agenda along, at all. He didn't have an "affair"; it wasn't like he had a momentary lapse of judgement and bedded some secretary or aide after a long day at the office, and that was that. No, he called up the service, made elaborate plans to conceal the payment transaction, and PUT A DEPOSIT DOWN for the next round!! There is no way that he can continue to govern with everyone thinking about that federal wiretap, wondering what it meant when the agency rep says "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe - you know - I mean that . . . very basic things." He will always be remembered as Client 9, for chrissakes.

Sorry, I'm no puritan and don't care who he sleeps with or how he gets his rocks off but his actions showed it's all about him and he obviously didn't care about either his family or the public trust. He has to resign to help New York State to get back on track.

He should go.

Spitzer should definitely go.

When listening to Dershowitz's specious arguments one cannot help but approach wonderment at his ignoring the big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room: Eliot Spitzer is a man who made his career out of prosecuting individuals on ethics issues and did so by employing the force of intimidation and government clout. All arguments about the crime are irrelevant faced with the enormous dereliction of public duty as a governor of a major state, who moved money around allegedly, in order to cover up what the majority of people think is a meaningless act. It is not a meaningless act to lose the public trust. If you want to end today's show with a de-moralization of the issue of prostitution, then all I can say is good luck as you head into the last days of Rome.

I have a standard in what I mean when I commit to a relationship that is about partnership and mutual support above all. and that love and loyalty are bigger than sex which is a tricky issue in many ways and that sexual infidelity is not a reason to abandon the rest.

As a lesbian, I don't see this as a man/woman thing - unless it's something only women do, and would hope we get to see men standing by their wives sides at times like these - and I do think there are men who've stood by wives it's just that so far women in office haven't faced quite the same issues. And I hope if I'm ever in that sort of partnership, I'd be out there supporting my partner. I don't think this is a bad message for our sons or daughters to have someone's spous by their side at their lowest moment.
Even if there is personal hurt and even if it's hard, saying that this is something we'll work out in private, but, as the person who loves my wife/husband/partner most, I'm here for them is just the sort of essage our kids need to heear about relationships - as opposed to the current pressure to just jump ship when the going gets hard

Spitzer should not resign - yet. We need more details on whether any real crimes were committed, such as using state money or services like Rudy Giuliani.

As for his wife standing by him at the news conference, she did what other wives do. If she hadn't, everyone would have madea big deal of it, counting all the wives who did appear on such occasions.

As to the question of whether he can still govern, does anyone remember Bill Clinton, who was impeached? He continued to govern, his wife toughed it out, and she's now running for president. Clinton was reckless, he lied about having sex with Monica Lewinsky and was a known womanizer, but these are not impeachable offenses.

Men do stupid things for sex. Women do stupid things for sex. Moreover, each of us has done stupid things for sex. Let's learn from our mistakes and move on.

Spitzer's such a disgrace. He needs to resign.

We are riveted when the news is tittilating---
but we yawn when our "President" commits high crimes and misdemeanors that call for his imminent impeachment. We should question our national sanity.

The danger for serious damage remains---Who, indeed, should resign??? For the good of the nation, so as not to provide a continuing distraction, Spitzer should attampt to fade into the woodwork.

Spitzer should stay.

Yes, please resign and faster the better.
I supported him bigtime because as AG, he showed sincere environmental concerns and legal actions against pollutors, especially in my too often dumped upon Bronx. That may have been true then, but now all his credibility is out the window, along with respect for his hollow ringing words. When he became Governor, his inlfuence seemed to immediately begin dimishing, as it became sadly evident that he was NOT A TEAM PLAYER, i.e. stifling all chances of compromise on environmental issues with the State Senate's Joe Bruno. I hope we have better luck and more humility from Mr.Patterson. ***icle***

Yes, of course he should resign. Between this, the previous and very unpalatable business with Joe Bruno, and the debacle over issuing drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, he has been shown to be totally devoid of the good judgment expected of a man in his position. And it really has nothing to do with whether or not prostitution should be legalized or the scope of his involvement in it. It is NOT NOW LEGAL, and the very least we must expect of our elected and/or appointed officials is that they do not break the laws they are sworn to uphold. In his pre-Governor days, Mr. Spitzer would have been the first one to use such a situation as this against anyone he desired to prosecute in order to get them to acquiesce to his demands, plea-bargain, or whatever; indeed, he was famous (or infamous) for the almost unconscionable zeal and pitiless manner in which he pursued perceived lawbreakers, even minor ones, if any glory could accrue to his office or reputation by doing so.

Spitzer should not resign (although I see in the NYT that he's planning to). Let things calm down a bit first before deciding. It'd probably blow over, but if it doesn't in a week he won't lose anything.

I'm a progressive and registered Democrat, and Yes, he should resign. He's now a liability to every cause he's ever embraced. This is a matter of trust and judgment, not personal morality. He brought himself to this pass by his own arrogance and recklessness. The future of urgently needed reform of the government of this state is now very uncertain, thanks to the Governor's selfish actions.
To say I am disappointed is a great understatement. I expected so much more and better from this man.

Gov. Spitzer should not resign. Yes, he's a hypocrite and, yes, he broke the law, but there are more important issues for him and this state to address, the economy and the environment among others. Let's show him our support and leave him to govern. He, his wife and the law can deal with the prostitution charges after he serves out his term.

wrong to edit out comments.

you need to find a better way of organizing more than a handful of comments.

these are not articles and your "producers" are far from editors.

I'm less concerned about the prostituion aspect of this report and more concerned about the money laundering component -- which demonstrates consciousness of guilt. But I'm most concerned about the conversations that seem to want to believe that the kind of relations a person has with a spouse are -- or should be -- the same kind of relations that a person has or seeks to obtain from a person whose job is sex for hire.

This isn't about marital indiscretion...He broke the LAW he was sworn to hold...the very same LAW he chased others to imprison them...he is a liar, a hypocrite and I don't want him representing NY or myself!
Had he had a harmless affair who cares...he also doesn't come off very "Harvard" after all this

GOV Spitz...GO HOME!

RESIGN PLEASE

Spitzer's hypocrisy is rvaled by the hypocrisy of his Democrat supporters here he think he shouldn't resign.

Imagine if this happened to a Republican or, better yet, Bush...
would they whine about this being a "private matter"??

who are you kidding?

Spitzer must resign, and the Dem cabal should resign from their blind support of moral hypocrites...

For me the issue is not whether Spitzer dipped his wick, but who paid for it.

If he broke his trust by using public funds to pay for his trysts, then he is corrupt and a thief and is not fit to serve. Follow the money!

If all of it came out of his own pocket, let it be. Would he be treated differently if he were involved in some sordid affair with his best friend's wife, rather than the emotional detachment a transaction with a prostitute allows?

The last of Ariela Blum’s three points was: “it started with the IRS being called to investigate large amounts of money being moved into shell companies and fake accounts by a high political figure! why wouldn't red alarms go off and thoughts of bribes and dirty money” Ariela, what part of the FOX News website did you get these 'facts' from?

Spitzer is undoubtedly the holiest man cought with a hooker since Jimmy Swaggart.
He promised to clean up the sewer that is Albany politics (named the worst state legislature in the nation). His first order of business was to try to force out Joseph Bruno, certainly no angel, but he used totally unethical methods. He has always insisted on an image of purity.
I voted for him; I liked him, and admired his 'rectitude.' It was all obviously a sham.
Like Spitzer, I am a man with a wife and daughters. He has, conspiracy theorists aside, made a call himself into a wiretap, and his own actions will heap humiliation upon his teenage daughters, the only innocents in this story. His inability to face the music without his obviously suffering wife at his side is DESPICABLE.
How can anyone not expect a resignation from someone who uses a construct as tortured as he did yesterday. He wronged his wife. He wronged his daughters (would he like to see them eventually join such an enterprise?). He wronged all of his constituents.
No matter how vile the behavior of the Bush administration has been, or how many laws Bruno may have violated, it is irrelevant to Spitzer's situation. He made his name on the political risky platform of being holier than ANYONE. It is no longer a tenable position for him to hold. Goodbye. He coulda been a contender.

This is not about sex. This is about ethics, trustworthiness, and the Governor's crusader attitude that is nothing but a hollow shell. Let's not forget that he was the ATTORNEY GENERAL of this state, charged with upholding our laws. He broke the law. All of this while riding into office on a platform of ethics and reform. This makes one question the motivation behind all of his crusades. It used to be a dot-to-dot sketch of him as an indulged rich kid who believes the rules apply to everyone else...now he has painted the picture with his own brush, and it is a masterpiece!

One of my favorite Chicago political stories of Scott's had to do with the 70+ year-old Sheriff of Cook County who parceled out jobs to female correction officers if they granted him their favors. As I recall, there was at least one incident that involved two young ladies at the same time. I believe that Scott found there were a number of listeners who were in contact to see if they could find out what the gentleman's diet and exercise regimen were! I have wondered what happened to the guy.

(Also, Scott, you used "infer" just now when you meant "imply."

Spitzer should stay.

It's too bad he did this, because it makes it virtually impossible for him to go further in politics or even to hold the governorship beyond this term, but it is absurd to say that he should resign over it. He was elected for his political views and should retain the power that he was given by the people of New York and continue to do his best to bring about the changes he seeks and implement the policies that he supports. I don't like him any better for this, and I'm sorry he has been infected by the arrogance that all too often accompanies political power, but I still want Spitzer as my governor.

As an NPR-listening lefty, I must call for his resignation. If it were anybody else, I wouldn't be so adament, but Eliot Spitzer can no longer claim the moral, ethical, or political high ground. There is now no chance for him to battle the corrupt Albany machine. He's finished.

He must resign. He can no longer govern New York State. He's become a laughing stock, besides being an utter hypocrite and a disgrace to his family.

What's the big freakin deal?

He should not resign. Seems to suffer from something akin to Clemens' arrogant attitude that a certain level of fame brings with it an immunity from responsibility for ones actions. It is personal. His children are the real victims.

The public has a short memory - and this too shall pass.

You want this for a governor?

three comments:

spitzer should have resigned yesterday, while giving that cringingly painful press conference! HOWEVER, since he did not, he might as well just stick it out now, considering nothing can get any MORE humiliating.

as to how serious was his crime -- ONLY 'prostitution' -- well, is everybody missing the point? apparently, it started with the IRS being called to investigate large amounts of money being moved into shell companies and fake accounts by a high political figure! why wouldn't red alarms go off and thoughts of bribes and dirty money come to mind??? thank goodness the system works, and frankly, we probably haven't heard the end of that!

as to his wife, what was she thinking, standing there next to him at that public 'mea culpa'? let her go about HER personal life privately! alas, just more of doing one's laundry in public... :(

ariela

Resign and the faster the better.

This issue surrounding Gov. Spitzer is not about sex but about integrity. Spitzer, in a psychologically fascinating and publicly tragic manner, has curiously destroyed his own credibility. Having voted for him, I don't want him to resign, yet resign he must. He has broken the ethical and legal trust of his constituents.

It is pure ignorance to view prositution as a victimless crime: not only does Spitzer's family suffer, but so will the people of the state of New York with the Governor's departure. And further, how many young girls grow up aspiring to be prostitutes? Until women have the same opportunities as men and are as protected as men, prostitution will remain an unfortunate option.

Arabella states: “I am looking forward to a female President and mayor of NYC. Then maybe we will concentrate on the issues this country needs to deal with - poverty, healthcare, the war and get away from the distractions created by otherwise intelligent men who can't keep their sex lives out of the headlines.” Yes, Arabella, until someone drags out that old VHS tape of “Girls Gone Wild” that the President or mayor made while drunk during spring break so many years ago.

Yes, he should. We need a governor who is not distracted with these legal problems.

Also, I believe being held to a higher standard comes with the territory.

Big deal.

No he shouldn't resign.

This whole media frenzy is the height of hypocrisy. I don't begin to understand it but this behavior is nothing new with powerful political figures, what is relatively new is the media reporting of it.

Given choices, I think Spitzer's choice of a consenting "business" arrangement is a better one than say, the Kennedys' (all of them) of sex as sport or Roosevelt or Eisenhower's mistresses or Clinton as a more recent example of multiple shady assignations and sex play in the White House with an employee young enough to be his daughter. As we all know, he remained in office and has evolved to be one of the most powerful, esteemed Democratic leaders whose wife (and major facilitator) is poised to be our nominee. Considering the collective memory loss on this and other events in history, why should Spitzer resign when he could move past this as many others have.

It's so sad for the family

The bees do it, the doves do it, even educated govs do it.
What's the big deal? The most dynamic, brilliant men I know have a huge sexual appetite. In the list of well-known sexual "miscreants" we heard at the beginning of your show, there was no mention of the king of them all: JFK. And of course Ted Kennedy.

IS THE DIFFERENCE that Spitzer was more discreet and made it a commercial transaction rather than relying on friendship and charisma? That is the better way to carry on a liaison anyway, nobody gets hurt.

What is the matter with these "resign now" people? Jealous?

Re the legal aspect--this is being invoked for political, not moral, reasons.

Bring on Paterson.

Spitzer's a bully to anyone who disagrees with him and has proven that he is not as pragmatic as the 70% of the electorate who voted him into office thought he was.

If we didn't know that he thought himself above the law before, we do now. And we also learn that he thinks himself above (his own!) basic moral standards.

I say, resign.

Yes....the solution to all this is a big moral debate. Puke.

Our country’s history is filled with leaders, both great and small, who personally acted immorally in one sense or another. Spitzer acted reprehensibly and should take responsibility for his actions, but unless this foolishness turns out to compromise his ability to do in government what he has been asked to do, then let his personal failures remain personal.

Isn't the hope of society that it can rise above individual human failure. If we continue to sacrifice what is societally right and just at the feet of the personal inadequacies and failures of our leadership then we are doomed to follow them into mediocrity.

I had always admired Spitzer from the distance of NJ, but I felt offended by the hardball spin that everything took since he became governor. "Bully" is something I have heard and agree with.I think he should resign and salvage whatever sense of respect that he can. It's not "the crime", it's the crusading finger-pointing before the crime hypocrisy that gets me.

Resign.

When listening to Dershowitz's specious arguments one cannot help but approach wonderment at his ignoring the big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room: Eliot Spitzer is a man who made his career out of prosecuting individuals on ethics issues and did so by employing the force of intimidation and government clout. All arguments about the crime are irrelevant faced with the enormous dereliction of public duty as a governor of a major state, who moved money around allegedly, in order to cover up what the majority of people think is a meaningless act. It is not a meaningless act to lose the public trust. If you want to end today's show with a de-moralization of the issue of prostitution, then all I can say is good luck as you head into the last days of Rome.

How will there be help offered for the family.

The only way for him to redeem himself publicly is to examine why prostitution is NOT okay...how it exploits people (mostly women) and is a prerogative of patriarchal privilege, often pitting women against each other.

It's not that he had a consensual affair; who KNOWS how this prostitute came to be his prey/worker. Why are some women protected from this (i.e. his wife/daughters) and others treated like so much meat?

It's NOT the way of the world that I want; we've got to stand up for women's rights.

And what about girls being smuggled unsuspectedly to serve this purpose...or the effect of sex tourists in third world countries on children.

How about a direct discussion about how we all can influence this trend...maybe get these exploited "workers" education and training for REAL jobs to help earn money for their survival.

People have to stop looking at other people as OKAY for exploitation either sexually, financially or whatever.

"JUSTICE, JUSTICE, YOU SHALL PURSUE!"

I don't understand why this is turning into a debate about whether or not prostitution should be legal. Spitzer knew it was illegal. He knew the laws about transferring large amounts of cash. He knew the Bush justice department was going after prominent Democrats. This isn't a sex scandal, it's a betrayal of all the New York voters who trusted Spitzer to be an honest reformer.

I wrote to the Governor this AM asking him NOT to resign. These are economically troubled times and are going to get a lot worse; we need all the fresh-thinking, radical executives we can muster.
I agree with you, Brian- that the Governor should do what Clinton should have done.... ask his electorate to show him a thumb up or down on this issue. Let him compare his crime (?) with the type of crime that Bruno is presently being investigated for.
Man, these "Aristotelian" flaws are so Freudian, aren't they?

Step down, resign. end it.

Maybe had he met her on the Amtrak train like most of those politicians we would have saved the taxpayers a lot of money.

He must resign. Whether or not you believe what he did should be criminal, it is a crime. As a man who always represented himself as holier than thou. When he took office he took steps to oust Alan Hevesi. He should follow his own rhetoric and fall on his sword.

question is what happens to the NY State budget die in 3 weeks?

RESIGN.
He has no credibility.

First this isn't simply a question of infidelity - that is between Gov. Spitzer and his wife. If he had simply had an affair it would have been a private matter (as with Clinton.)

Second, he paid for sex, not solicited, with a prostitute, which is a complex issue (I personally think it should be legal). However since it is not legal and his platform was about upholding the law, breaking the law in his unique case makes it a public matter. It also obliterates his integrity and thus his ability to successfully govern. Brokering and compromising in the state legislature will be next to impossible given his already major gaffs. And the State, given the looming recession, needs a much stronger and effective governor.

Lastly, he dug his own grave IMHO. What a waste of a brilliant career, but also what an important lesson about hubris.

I do not condone his actions. However, why should he resign over this issue when the current presidential administration gets away with torture and illegal wars. It is terrible that he lied about this to his family. But how is it that we compare the institution of marriage to his ability to honestly govern? The question of corruption is the difference between being a patron of a prostitution ring and running a prostitution ring. His marriage, and especially his wife, should not be judged by the public.

He should resign. He has no credibiltiy and thinks he is above the law.

I'm just so sad for the children.

When someone cheats on their taxes, privately, in the privacy of their home, that is a private matter.

I think Governor Spitzer should govern New York State, as the people of New York elected him to do, because despite an error in judgment he is able to do the business of government and New Yorkers need a politician who is essentially strong against corruption with financial institutions, consumer fraud and the plethora of Republican misjudgments. He should stay.

I think he should not resign. Barney Frank did not resign, though of course he didn't have Spitzer's enemies. I feel sure the Upstate Republicans finally destroyed him with this--and his terrible judgment destroyed him. The waste of this is sickening to me. Spitzer could have been such a force for good but even now, in the face of Bruno's corruption, he should grit his teeth and stay.

He should resign because he is the largest hypocrite and cannot be trusted.

When he was attorney general, Eliot Spitzer had no trouble going after a "sophisticated prostitution ring." As governor, he apparently had no trouble patronizing one. The hypocrisy speaks for itself.

Spitzer should not resign. He is clearly a person of talent who has been hampered by his hubris. This public humiliation could well be transformative, make him a better and more understanding human being and hence a more effective political leader.

Spitzer's problem is not his wife's fault-- it has nothing to do with his relationship with his wife, actually, other than his deceitfulness in hiding it from her. He's essentially exhibiting classic behavioral patterns of a sex addict, or any other addict for that matter-- leading a double life, losing control of his life due to his addict behavior, paying for sex and being unable to stop despite the unbelievably negative consequences. Eliot Spitzer may be a high achiever, but he should be pitied for his out of control behavior. He needs and should get help.

Just to reiterate--this was not an AFFAIR. It was PROSTITUTION. Spitzer himself prosecuted prostiution rings with great media attention. He's not credible. He has to go.

Yes.... this is all just so sad and emotional for all of them.............

If what he did is "no big deal" and a "personal matter", why did he, himself, put people behind bars for the same activities?

If he stays in power, his next act should be pardoning everyone that's been prosecuted for prostitution. And while we're at it, let's throw money laundering in there, too, just in case.

As a married woman who understands the wide range of needs on both sides of the equation, I don't think Spitzer should resign.

We do not know, and should not seek to know what agreements govern the Spitzers' relationship--in the bedroom or otherwise.

The zeal to make prostitution, and the pursuit of its benefits a crime is a ridiculously hypocritical matter with which Americans should come to terms. Seeking those services does not render Spitzer ineffective at his role as governor. I voted for him, and hope he can consider staying on to do the job for which we elected him.

He should not resign.
He should investigate why his bank accounts were being monitored.

Gov. Spitzer should not resign. His indiscretions, while reckless and obviously hurtful to his family, are not a violation of the public trust. Although his political capital will be diminished,at least temporarily, he will still be able to accomplish important reforms that we badly need. We should resist the Republican party's gleeful over-reaction, a la the Lewinsky affaire.

Linda let's face it: our society is in the crapper.

Prostitution is illegal. (Should it be? Another topic)

He is the Govenor, who purports to be champion of Law & Order. Instead he is an example of Hubris exceeded only by GWB.

He must resign.

(Nb: Monica was not a Pro.)

I feel sorry for his girls.
What do they learn from seeing their father choosing this kind of behavior?

Legalizing prostitution would save us some of this headache, and quell some of these blatant hypocrisies.

Follow the money...not in to Spitzer's account, but out of it.....

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/11/51123/3435/851/474082

He should NOT resign. After Bill Clinton, his actions and his current level of respect nationally or the MANY other public figures who have committed indiscretions of a PRIVATE nature this is not worthy of our time or energy with so many vital issues on the table. This may proove an epiphany for Spitzer and his future of public service to our state.
There is a political aspect to this and MAY have a partisan Republican genesis.

When listening to Dershowitz's specious arguments one cannot help but approach wonderment at his ignoring the big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room: Eliot Spitzer is a man who made his career out of prosecuting individuals on ethics issues and did so by employing the force of intimidation and government clout. All arguments about the crime are irrelevant faced with the enormous dereliction of public duty as a governor of a major state, who moved money around allegedly, in order to cover up what the majority of people think is a meaningless act. It is not a meaningless act to lose the public trust. If you want to end today's show with a de-moralization of the issue of prostitution, then all I can say is good luck as you head into the last days of Rome.

A Bill Clinton comparison is relevant here. here. Bill had his multiple rendezvous in the Oval Office. Spitzer was foolhardy, too, but at least he acted more civilly in having his rendezvous out of town, away from his home, family, and office.

Did he state funds for sex? If not then why step down, otherwise do not throw stones at glass houses. No he should not step down.

Gut reaction: DON'T resign

This is a FAMILY matter, and that aspect of it is nobody's business.

Need to learn more: Appears from what I hear that Spitzer was singled out by the bank and/or federal government (what a surprise). However, couldn't have happened to a nice guy! What a self-righteous jerk... but an effective and competent leader.

Side issue: Prostitution should be legalized (as should drugs) and regulated.

Why in the entire first hour of the show thus far has no one brought up the possibility that the Gov has been framed here? Are we still in this day and age such a naive society that it's unimaginable that, what with all the feather ruffling Spitzer did with his high talk and morality-based campaigning on the way into office, he made a lot of enemies in high places? Seems to me a lot of people would take great joy in seeing someone like that fall flat on their face. We've gone through a president who lied to us to go to war, and we're still so undiscerning of the political process that, as soon as we hear 'sex scandal,' we automatically assume it to be true. Either Spitzer really did it and is a tragic self-defeatist, or there's much more to the story than we know, or will know.

Yes, he should resign. Joyce Purnick hit the nail on the head: he will be unable to govern. But beyond this purely pragmatic consideration, the list of factors, from the hypocrisy of having prosecuted exactly the same actions as a DA to then doing business with QAT, to trying to hide the financial transactions by ducking a dollar below the trigger limits (as reported online on the NYT yesterday), to simply breaking the law--especially given Spitzer's claims to squeaky cleanness--say he should step down. Until the law changes he seems to have broken it, and why we should give a pass to this person because he is smart or talented or powerful I do not understand. Furthermore, why we put up with all the sanctimony about marriage and family in our public life I do not understand, but until that discourse--and the laws that prop it up, including the absence of legal marriage for gay people--changes, he is too damaged.

Our children..Our poor children must hear all this. What must they think? Where does our society go from here?

The people who are sworn to uphold the law must be moral paragons. I would not respect a police officer who smokes marijuana at home, then busts dealers in Washington Square. And I do not respect a governor and former agent of law enforcement who engages in even a lowly misdemeanor. Change the laws, then philander all you want. But do not flout the laws. He needs to resign.

He should resign. It seems simple to me: as governer, he's sworn to uphold the law, and he broke the law.

Because this runs so contrary to his persona in politics and because of a variety of actions he's taken since becoming governor that indicate hypocrisy and self righteousness in going after others, there is no choice but to resign. His attacks on other politicians, chiefly Joe Bruno, has made him enemies who will take the fullest advantage of this situation. He can be tied up with questions about how he's been conducting his own political career and forced into compromising a variety of initiatives simply to keep his position.
If David Patterson takes over, the reform agenda can get a fresh start.
Interestingly, if he had NOT run as someone so squeaky clean, if he had not behaved with so much arrogance in the beginning of his administration, if so many questions had not arisen about his own conduct in handling campaign money, this would probably be seen as something unfortunate, but not such a big deal. There would be jokes, but not a major campaign to force him out of office- because all politicians know "There, but for the grace of God, go I." Unfortunately I think he just made too many enemies for this to blow over.

Sex in Politics! Outrageous!

No, he should not resign.

I am sad to say that Spitzer should resign because he broke the law. Issues of personal morality aside, he broke the law. We may not like the law but we don't have the choice of obeying only the laws we like -- and that goes double for those sworn to uphold the law.

Gov. Spitzer should resign.

Resign? Ridiculous. Absolutely not.

Please! Prostitution is NOT a victimless crime. Can anyone question whether Spitzer's wife and children feel like victims this morning?

There is a huge difference between what happens between a man and wife and a prostitute and client. Mrs. Spitzer is not in any way responsible for her husband's choice. No sexual stunt on her part could have changed this. He chose to act in a way to humiliate and hurt her. He has a lot to apologize for.

I bet Brian's glad he's not out today, like he usually is when big news happens!

Our children..Our poor children must hear all this. What must they think? Where does our society go from here?

To everyone analyzing what Spitzer's wife is doing standing by him. Do you have some inside information that we do not? For all we know, they have some problem where they can't have sex and she is OK with him going elsewhere for it. Some women can develop problems where sex becomes unpleasurable or even painful. The fact is, we don't know. What we do know is they are long time companions and he *might* have betrayed her trust. Are we supposed to abandon any friend we have that betrays our trust, without any further discussion or consideration?

No,he should not resign. The Reoublicans are threatening the same impeachment spectacle over sexual misbehavior as the national party did with Clinton. There are bigger moral and social issues that need to be dealt with. Let the Spitzers handle this privately and let's move on to the real issues as adults.

Spitzer should fight to stay in office.

did anyone consider that spitzer's wife perhaps wanted to be there, not just that he dragged her there? i feel sorry for them, that their sexual life is up for scrutiny. for all we know, she might have known about his proclivities all along and decided it did not matter to her at all. sexual exclusivity is not necessarily the most important thing to all married couples.

he should resign. I am only upset that this is costing Hillary a super delegate...

Shame on us for having this speculative discussion. We should wait for the facts to become clear...will their be an indictment, and for what? Also, who are we to tell Mrs. Spitzer what to do?

Or any other couple who didn't ask our advice?

My Modest Proposal is to keep a circle of quiet free girlfriends to solve the "power is the ultimate aphrodisiac" problem.

And please give equal time to the sexual misbehavior of the Republicans that we know about....

I think he should resign simply because he was caught in a mess, whether or not he was singled out, and took attention away from running the state, which certainly needs all his attention.

I am looking forward to a female President and mayor of NYC. Then maybe we will concentrate on the issues this country needs to deal with - poverty, healthcare, the war and get away from the distractions created by otherwise intelligent men who can't keep their sex lives out of the headlines.

Whether or not prostitution should be legal is a moot point. It is illegal at the moment, so the Governor has broken the law. As the highest official in the state, he was caught breaking the law, so he should resign.

Maybe his wife sticks by his side because she wants to be a senator for New York, and then president of the US one day. Isn't that what Hillary did?

He must resign. McGreevey had to resign, not because he was gay or cheated, but because he gave his unqualified lover a state job. Spitzer should resign not because he cheated or used a prostitute, but because he was elected on a platform of ethics reform and claimed the moral high ground.

Resign. Obvious. Not because prostitution should be illegal--it shouldn't be--but because Spitzer currently has the job of executing the law, and he just broke some of them.

End of story. Please.

Step down.

My hope for Mr. Spitzer is that he will look into the possibility that he may be a sex addict. There are many 12 step meetings and treatment programs for this type of addiction.

As for if his wife should have stood by him yesterday or not: a marriage is a partnership in many ways and also a friendship. It was her choice to make and she decided to be there. How can we begin to know what goes on between them in private? So why would we be commenting on this?

He should fight to stay...

Rather than ask if Spitzer should resign, consider if we want to resign ourselves to a continued cycle of positioning men and women to play out power dynamics through sex for money that victimize both men and women?

Misdeeds like this do not happen in a vacuum or as the exclusive result of personal failing, but occur within an environment of common expectations we all create and uphold.

How many of us have paid to see a movie wherein prostitution glorified powerful men?

How many of us have taken money out of our own pockets to provide better options for women who find prostitution the most viable route for making a living?

How many of us play into gender roles in order to manipulate others for personal gain because it is easier than facing the conflicts that would result if we bucked limiting gender roles?

Perhaps we can pull together and change the expectations conducive to this kind of behavior rather than the easier alternative of burning public figures at the stake.

Prostitution should be legal -- but it's not. He broke the law; he should resign.

Jill Williams states: “He should resign! Prostitution is not a victimless crime. Those women have lives and histories. They should not be exploited. Other crimes like drugs use and physical abuse are often associated with it.” Jill: While it’s true that many street walkers are physically-abused addicts, this is not happening to prostitutes making $5,000 a pop. If anything, these prostitutes are price-gouging and the governor is a victim

I cannot believe that some people are advocating that Spitzer should stay. Prostitution is illegal and it is not a victimless crime -- prostitutes are often victims of violence and are often forced into the business.

He should absolutely not resign. He did an idiotic thing but we (citizens of NYS) elected him to do a job. He should summon the moral courage to face up and move on.

And the media should really leave Silda alone. Why is her reaction the object of your show?

Don't resign. His psychological motives, and neuroses driving him, do not interfere with his ability to take a high ground on significant issues that he has and could address.

I admire him and hope he keeps his job.

Spitzer should resign, because as Joyce Purnick pointed out, he can no longer govern. His hubris brought him down.

No way, do not resign. This is a personal issue that does not, in any way, affect his ability to continue his duties as Governer

Spitzer needs to resign at once. He will have no real authority going forward if he insists on staying in office. This is his third strike and he's out. He should get out of the way and let his party pursue the progressive agenda with participants who can actually function in the muck that is Albany.

He should resign.

He's contributing to social problems he claims to be cleaning up.

Not just the prostitution but the deceit involving the money.

On another note, his wife should get herself checked for venereal diseases, AIDS...

When listening to Dershowitz's specious arguments one cannot help but approach wonderment at his ignoring the big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room: Eliot Spitzer is a man who made his career out of prosecuting individuals on ethics issues and did so by employing the force of intimidation and government clout. All arguments about the crime are irrelevant faced with the enormous dereliction of public duty as a governor of a major state, who moved money around allegedly, in order to cover up what the majority of people think is a meaningless act. It is not a meaningless act to lose the public trust. If you want to end today's show with a de-moralization of the issue of prostitution, then all I can say is good luck as you head into the last days of Rome.

If prostitution was legal then we wouldn't be forcing these hypocrisies and we wouldn't be forced to listen to all this hoopla for so long.

His career is over, he did this by himself, make him stand up there also by himself to take his lumps.

I also believe that you don't get to be a politician of this level without a megalomaniac-type personality, so maybe this is just part of the personality, but how much is a person expected to bear from a spouse?

Demand more.

Cleint 9: Hang in there...for now. And be as unsafe with your progressive agenda as you are in the sack! Be the change you thought you were...

Sadly, I think he should resign.

Sex issues shouldn't be such a big deal, but Spitzer himself was so judgmental about the topic that his credibility is now completely lost.

This is what happens when you attack Republicans (Bruno) . I think we should ask what is real motive behind all of this. He should not resign and he has already apologized . This is a tragedy but it should be between the husband and wife. There are more important matters that effects the general public that should be dealt with instead.

If he was attorney general, and it was not himself, Spitzer would have gone after this person like a pit bull.

He's gone.

He should resign.

If a man who made his career in the highest levels by upholding justice and persecuting and prosecuting criminals then breaks the law in such a shameful way, he loses all credibility and trust. There is no way that he can govern effectively (especially in jail! ;-)

This is a tremendous tragedy for:
- himself
- his family
- the state of NY - for our governance
- the NY Democratic party - for his leadership
- the national Democratic party (for the distraction for the candidates, disrepute for the party at such an important time, and loss of a rising star)
STILL does not make his crime go away. This would be unacceptable from any politician.

Let's be serious: the real crime in all this: the poor prostitute. No one cares about HER.

Altokid, if the bank breached the Governor's privacy, his lawyers from Paul Weiss will have the evidence declared inadmissible and any charges against him dropped. That will get him out of being prosecuted in state or federal court, but not in the court of public opinion.

Divorce because of a husband visiting w prostitute?? Ridiculous!

50% of husbands go to prostitutes -- only 50% of marriages end in div... oh, forget it.

I don't think Spitzer should resign, although I'm not sure how he'll carry on (so to speak) at least initially. His personal behavior was abhorrent--he's a liar and a betrayer. Nonetheless, his political strategies and goals could make New York a great and generous State, again. (Indeed, it's not a stretch to imagine that his personal perversity drives his politics. Oy.)

He should definitely resign. The guy has already exhibited a serious personality problem -- arrogance and bullying -- which has made him ineffective in his first year in Albany. Now, his hypocrisy and the sheer seediness of this scandal makes him lose all credibility. Plus, to have engaged in this behavior shows incredibly bad judgment, especially given that he knows how law enforcement works and knew that he was under intense scrutiny.

I don't understand what's taking him so long to make his announcement.

I just heard the woman on your show say " so you think that it is a woman's job to please her man...oh Please!"
This is what is wrong between men and women in this society. If a wife is to hold power over her husband's sexuality then she is responsible for it. I can only imagine that this woman's husband is a very unhappy man. it IS the JOB of a woman to please her man and the job of a man to please his woman. What is marriage for if not sexuality and love? after that is established, family follows. Sex and love are important to men and women . Let's grow up here.

Spitzer should resign. He has turned criminal. Some may argue that prostitution should not be illegal, therefore Spitzer should not be held accountable for violating laws against prostitution. However, he HAS chosen to violate the law he swore to uphold. If he will choose to violate the law in such a widespread, planned fashion that affects many many people, what other crimes might he be tempted to commit?

I am appalled that so many of us rich, safe Americans look at prostitution rings and do not see the poor, desperate women who are exploited thereby. On the basis of protecting women and for many other reasons, prostitution SHOULD be illegal.

Spitzer should NOT resign... political memories are short and there's too much important work to be done.

resign

Is Brian bias???? He takes calls from nutballs who think Spitzer should stay in office despite at least three huge debacles that jeopardized the ethical powers of his office...

Who is supporting him?? Who is protecting this unethical person? How can you make excuses for someone in his high political position that has taken advantage of his power. Rattle off a list of American politicians and see if they had the same incidents if they would not be thrown out of office in the blink of an eye. New York is being taken advantage of.

he should not resign...yet.

He should resign. And WNYC: What are you doing reading percentage numbers on the air. With all the money you raise you can't afford to take a poll on the website like other websites do it with a vote button? You're using people to count up comments? What kind of use of listener money is this? Also you don't even THANK your listeners like Channel 13 does, you thank endless corporate donors and promote movies as if they're commercials!

He should NOT resign.

Question remains; did the banks breach the Governer's privacy?

We should not be partisan. If he was a Republican, we'd all be decrying his "illegal" behavior. However, James Carville on CNN last night completely defended Spitzer's behavior. The glee that is found when the "other" party shows immoral behavior and poor judgment is reprehensible. But he should resign because of the damage that is done to the office and to the Democratic party's reputation. We may not like our society's conservative attitudes towards sexual misconduct and especially towards one in public office, but that's just the way it is right now.

The whole thing will blow over in a few weeks.

I hope against hope he won't resign. Given what the Republican Administration (and I say "Administration" because it always gets a laugh) has perpetrated over the past seven years, (at the least immoral and at the most criminal) for them to take the high moral ground now is the epitome of chutzpah.

Spitzer's wife dosen't want him to resign because she's like all the other "girls" in his life. Just another greedy woman on the gravy train.

By the way, for those who feel that prostitution is a victimless crime. No tax is paid on these services. That means, that a business is raking in big cash at the expense of the public. Women are often faced with unsafe working practices (didn't you read that Spitzer requests that no condom be used!!!). I wonder what OSHA or the NYS Dept. of Labor would think of Spitzer's request.

I find these segments one sillier than the next. This is a vote yes or no segment not a chance to examine "emotions."

I think we would be a lot more sympathetic toward Mr.Spitzer if he had simply had affair/s. Why did he have to go to a prostitiute--a horrible, abusive situation for women. By using a prostitute he is bretraying his commitment to human rights,

Jonathan I couldn't agree more. He must step down.

He should not resign at this point.

This has dimensions that are marital, eroto-psychologic, ethical, political (public policy & public attitude support), legal (Postal crime, Interstate trafficing, structuring, soliciting criminal prostitution --both in DC and NY--)and is a mass-chattering scandle. These dimensions will have some disabling impact on all Spitzer's future public suasion and on his legisative effectiveness. His past notoriety magnifies the drama, but that will be brief. But there has been no apparent miscarriage of his functional duties as Governor of New York. The legislature has no other governor than the Governor and they will be compelled to work with Spitzer if he stays. He has not committed any act worthy of impeachment. He may find that maintaining a legal defense, should there be a prosecution, will destroy the energies necessary to perform his duties. It is too soon for him to decide to resign. Ciao, T

I agree with Polaris:
he should resign. Many many women are forced into this line of work they are kidnaped trafficed and held against thier will, Spitzers actions has contributed for the demand fo these socalled services. Why are you not talked about the enormous human trafficking problem? Why are you not talking about the realtionship this has to sex slavery? Why to go on ignoring the larger issues, when will you apologists take your head out of the sand?

Nikki states: “I am appalled at the offensive double standard some listeners are applying to Gov. Spitzer. He broke the law, stupidly and arrogantly. To suggest that we should overlook this because he has good political ideas or a promising future is enraging. What kind of message is that for young people?! That if you do something wrong, you won't get in trouble if you are successful?” Unfortunately, Nikki, young people have already learned this lesson from virtually every Republican ever elected.

This event sounds more and more like a Republican witch-hunt. The FBI spending time on hookers? Wow.

The tragedy is that America has a 16th century puritanical value system. Let’s grow up here. Did the guy rob the public, was he corrupt? Politician can’t have sex outside their marriage? Lets exhume saints and have saints run for public office. Because only the dead can be perfect.

Disappointed but not surprised.
Credibility is certainly compromised.
Not surprised at the FBI's role because it started out as a sex police; sex and investigation of sexual activity are the historical origin of the FBI. J.Edgar Hoover took a minor sex investigation unit of the federal government and promoted it into its present popular perception as a law enforcement body...but at its root it is still a sex police...remember the 1950's and the purging of homosexuals and commies from governmeent service.

He's got to go.

He should resign not because he visited a prostitute but because he has been preaching to the rest of us about integrity, etc. I think he has lost the respect of the electorate.

That said, there is much more to this story and the media should find out the identity of the bank, the identity of all the other clients, how the understaffed IRS decided to go after this small company, why the understaffed FBI decided to go after this ring, what part Bruno played in this. This thing smells to me!

I love your show but I am very disappointed about your show today. Could you please refrain from talking about Mr. Spitzer's personal life and keep it to his political career. I am horrified about the fact that you even dare to discuss what the reasons might have been for her to be standing next to her husband. Could you PLEASE stop it. I can't tell you how disappointed I am. His relationship with his wife is NONE of our business. Please show some respect - if not for him, for his wife and family - and remember that you are on public radio !! I truly hope you'd personally excuse yourself later today!!

why is anyone surprised? there is nothing new under the sun! at least it wasn't a 16 year old boy or male druggie hooker. wonder how much bruno paid off the bank for this?
He Should STAY...a little humbling is good...
Let us not forget Washington & jefferson slipping out back...at least he was paying for it instead of taking advantage
For his wife...it is NONE of the PUBLIC's business...I do believe we have somewhere in our constitution the right to privacy.

He shouldnot resign for having sex with some prostitutes. There are millions of people are having sex more than one woman. He just caught, there could be many senators or governors or general public involved in having sex with some other woman.

Brian asked for the source of Silda Spitzer's support for her husband not resigning. In today's NYTimes; page 18; Danny Hakim and William K. Rashbaum report that a a Monday morning meeting she was among those present woh "told her husband that he should not resign in haste..."

I think this is so sad for Mrs. Spitzer, the family and secondly the people of NY, who have been hurt and are in pain.

I find it rather humorous that Democrats often seem to be brought down by sex! Consensual sex. To me, there are many, many worse "sins" than consensual sex. Like, sending innocent, young American men and women to fight unjust wars. And then virtually ignoring their needs upon their return - if they return.

It is my perception that when Republicans are caught having sex, it's almost never admitted to and always pretty sleazy. Bathroom stall, anyone? I vote NOT to have Spitzer resign.

Should the Gvt. have the power to control who we sleep with and whether money, jewelry, mink coats or dinner are parts of the matter?
This definetely a victimless crime and the commotion is strictly political (see Alan s Chartok article in the West Side Spirit.
I think Spitzer should stand firm. I'm expecting a backlash from this matter.

I think many listeners here have it wrong. He did not simply "have an affair". He paid for sex (a NY state crime). He arranged for a woman to cross state lines for the purpose of having sex (a federal crime - violation of the Mann Act). Spitzer, through his own actions, knowingly subjected himself to the possibility of state and federal indictment. He KNOWINGLY broke the law. He did this, even though he held public office at the time, and even though in his previous position, he prosecuted people involved in such activities, albeit on the receiving end of the financial transaction.

If he were simply having an affair, which involved having sex with a consenting adult whom he did not pay, this would already be old news. Breaking the law is something different, it brings with it the possibility of incarceration and/or sanction. On a public relations level it brings into question his judgment as a leader.

I helped vote Spitzer into office because of his solid record. He needs to resign in order to preserve the integrity of the office and the integrity of my vote.

I don't think prostitution should be illegal but I do think the Governor should resign. He showed a clear lack of good judgment.

When listening to Dershowitz's specious arguments one cannot help but approach wonderment at his ignoring the big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room: Eliot Spitzer is a man who made his career out of prosecuting individuals on ethics issues and did so by employing the force of intimidation and government clout. All arguments about the crime are irrelevant faced with the enormous dereliction of public duty as a governor of a major state, who moved money around allegedly, in order to cover up what the majority of people think is a meaningless act. It is not a meaningless act to lose the public trust. If you want to end today's show with a de-moralization of the issue of prostitution, then all I can say is good luck as you head into the last days of Rome.

I voted for Spitzer. He should resign immediately. The hypocrisy! The arrogance! The deranged sense of entitlement!

American society, the American economy, and the very idea of the United States are on the decline because too many Americans have lost touch with the difference between right and wrong.

Spitzer is a consummate hypocrite and has no personal integrity. And his judgement is shocking.

To think that Spitzer is making decisions that impact the rest of us is deeply disturbing.

And let's call his behavior what it is:

deviancy, noun

derived from

deviance |ˈdēvēəns|
noun
the fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior.

If Spitzer wants to pay for sex, that's fine. If he wants to engage in money laundering, that's fine too. Just don't do it while pretending to be a clean-as-a-whistle sanctimonious governor. If risky behavior makes Spitzer happy, he should take his lumps and not whine about it.

And the rest of just should not "dumb down" deviancy.

This country, this economy, this culture are in deep crisis. We need strong, clear-headed, HONEST government officials with PERSONAL INTEGRITY to bring about reform and undo the damage caused over the past quarter century.

Spitzer is a joke. He's out.

He should resign! We should hold our leaders to a higher standard. The work they do is too important to let just anyone take office. They should have self discipline. Prostitution is not a victimless crime. Those women have lives and histories. They should not be exploited. Other crimes like drugs use and physical abuse are often associated with it. If he had a consensual affair with another person we could look the other way. But breaking the law is a serious issue.

Governor Spitzer's achievements far surpass an indiscretion. Even in this sexually priggish culture, visiting a prostitute does not carry the same moral weight as the Governor's unparalleled track record of taking down Wall Street thugs. It's morally myopic - if not downright perverse- to think they do. Spitzer's mettle will again be tested - not a bad thing for a politician with a reputation for arrogance - but I don't think he should resign.

Having lived through a "governor scandal" here in CT I think the best thing Sptizer can do is resign as soon as possible. When our former governor was under indictment for corruption, it took time and energy away from other more important matters. Once he finally did resign, the Lt. governor, Jodi Rell, assumed the role immdeiately and finally things moved forward again. She has done an excellent job, as I am sure the current NY Lt. governor will.

I suggest that those of us who believe this whole thing is Bruno's way of getting even confess to being a client of this "escort service". Let the FBI, or whoever waste their time investigating all of us. I myself would like to admit that I am "client number 73, I am filthy rich and love to spend my money supporting these poor girls. I was a Liberal Democrat until I got my Wall Street bonus - now I are a NeoCon".

I think he should in no way resign despite of the fact that he sometimes makes himself very unliked at least to me.

For those who say this is such a small issue compared to all of the bigger problems that we face... He is our mayor, so how does he have time to pay for sex, and hide his money to do so? He should be too busy trying to address these serious issues that we face.
Lets stop with the spin. If the FBI should be busy looking into other issues, Spitzer should be too busy, with those same issues, to be running around paying for sex.

#225

Unfortunately, he probably should resign. Not due to the "moral issue" raised by histrionic puritanicals but because he is a political liability now.

Re; Spitzer. The banks are doing what? The FBI is doing what?. I thought we had critical security issues facing the country? The banks are making unwise loans and questionable investments. We spend our time chattering about Spitzer's sex life. Compassion for his family is in order, but move on. Jane Moser

Maybe Spitzer is a sex addict. Risky sex, dangerous dealings with money, impaired judgment, placing job and rep in jeopardy...all the hallmarks. Maybe his dedication to reform was an attempt at dealing with his remorse. If untreated alcoholism, sex addiction, etc. are grounds for resignation, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and scads of others' heads should roll. Let him live; get him, his wife, his kids some counseling, and let him try to be an example of the brilliance and humility a life after addiction can be. If he slips again, though...maybe not.

he should resign. Staying on will greatly hamper the Democratic party's ability to take over the state senate and push through thier agenda. As he stated politics mis about ideas not people. The agenda of the party is more important than wasting political capitol on any one individual.

A few of your guests have been commenting on the political nature of this--how much of this is payback for Spitzer's supposedly going after Bruno? Who are Clients 1-8 and 10-11 and why haven't we heard about them? I think it's time for more payback--open the closet doors on all of the Republicans who have secrets to hide.

Additionally, who are these people who feel they have a right to comment on someone's marriage--all because it doesn't seem to conform to somebody's Hallmark Card notion of marriage.

#226:

Indeed, ab, you're right. Very unfortunate.

Oh, come on! The Governor needs to resign post-haste. If he were a Republican, your phone lines would be burning with outrage. (I am a more-liberal-than-Spitzer, progressive, by the way). This sanctimonious hypocrite, who promised to change everything in Albany and changed nothing, shouldn't let the door hit him in the rear end on the way out.

Because prostitution rings are illegal, they are potentially unfair to the women involved. Some women are dragged and kept in the business for various reasons out of their control including force and pressure from their environment. Women are also cheated out of money and abused. There's nothing serious about the act prostitution per say, but because the system is often corrupt, Spitzer is funding and promoting a horrible system. On that grounds he should resign.

I think if I was Spitzer, I'd have climbed out the window in the middle of the night and been half way to New Mexico by now...

I am a Spitzer supporter and I think he should resign. Generally, I think this stuff should remain personal, but getting caught with this brings up the question of judgment. A politican caught with a prostitute is so cliche, that anyone with half a mind (assuming you are lacking in morality) would never engage in such activity. That he did so indicates either a total divorce from reality or a weird desire for self-destruction. New York politics is already so screwed up, I think he should step out of the way and let Paterson finish out the term.

OK, OK, .I must confess, I was number 9 1/2. We split the
bill.

HE SHOULD RESIGN.

I am appalled at the offensive double standard some listeners are applying to Gov. Spitzer. He broke the law, stupidly and arrogantly. To suggest that we should overlook this because he has good political ideas or a promising future is enraging. What kind of message is that for young people?! That if you do something wrong, you won't get in trouble if you are successful?

Gov. Spitzer is obviously talented, but he also has terrible judgment, he's a hypocrite and he might even have serious emotional issues. The bottom line is that we cannot overlook this. It is a distraction from so many important issues.

The trajedy here is that, that complete scumbag Bruno wins and the repubs will take the state over again. So much for reform. This state is doomed.

I would like to relate this to the Sean Bell case, where the police used deadly force in investigating minor prostitution offences and minor drug offences. Spitzer is lucky that NYC police were not dispatched to the Mayflower.

Shifting gears, Spitzer's first mismove in my opinion was trooper-gate. This squandered any opportunity for his administration to get anything constructive done (regardless of whether Bruno may be guilty, criminally investigating someone you need to work with was a stupid political move). The prostitution is the icing on the cake that Spitzer cannot be effective. For the good of the Democratic party, he should resign and give Patterson a chance to carry out reforms.

I'm with Dennis. We don't need more stupid and arrogant politians. Resign.

He's a complete schmuck and should resign. How could anyone expect judgment from such a schmuck? They are not dates. They are tricks, which is why it is not a "victimless" crime. Every child trafficed is a victim of turning a blind eye to prostitution.

Is it a political hit? As your current guest is suggesting... we know that the FBI (and Federal DA offices) have been politized by the Bush Adm in DC. Is it really such a stretch?

Does NOT necessitate resigning--he just needs help from a good shrink, but should continue his worthwhile work of reform.

INTERESTING? ALL MALE LAWYERS COMMENTING? \

He needs to resign.

Loss of trust and moral power: If his platform is crusading, he's lost the trust and confidence of most of those he wishes to motivate or change. In its current condition, Albany requires more than an "administrator".

Lack of judgment: One would hope elected officials would have a modicum of judgment. This was not isolated, impuslive incident.

It's just plain illegal: He's a lawyer, a former Attorney General, and now governor. He cannot claim ignorance of the law or that he thinks prostitution should be legal.

Finally, I am confused by your callers and guests' lenient view of prostitution and adultery - and I'm tired of people (including Spitzer) saying "it's a private matter" or "no one knows what happens in a marriage." If the governor's marital or extramarital affairs are so irrelevant, then politicians need to stop trotting out their wives and kids during the campaigns and when they want the electorate to feel warm and fuzzy abou them.

I do not think that he should resign based on the information that is available at this time. Until we know more about the provenance of this investigation, I am unwilling to give the benefit of the doubt to GW Bush's DOJ. The Public Corruption Unit (the unit behind the complaint) has opened 5.6 investigations against Democrats for every 1 they have opened against Republicans.

Given the scandals involving the firing of USAs because they would not prosecute Democrats zealously enough (or were unwilling to drop legitimate cases against Republicans) and the extreme politicization of the entire DOJ organization literally from top to bottom, I am more than a little skeptical that this is not a political hit job.

This complaint came about not because Spitzer was a collatoral victim of an investigation of a prostitution ring, rather the prostitution ring became known to the DOJ because they were on a fishing expedition into anything they could find against Spitzer. Spitzer was the target of an investigation that started without any criminal activity -- they were simply looking for dirt on a powerful, politically ascendant Democrat.

He should not resign until we know more about the circumstances of this investigation.

He has broken the law and violated public trust. He should absolutely resign.(From a Democrat who voted for him)

Stay, if he can. But beyond anything else, he clearly has a serious judgement problem.

(do not think he should resign)

I am disappointed that Spitzer, as someone who ran on issues of honesty, integrity, etc. could not just keep out of trouble and abstain from visiting prostitutes while he was in office. Surely, that is not a lot to ask.

That being said, does this mean he can not do his job and should resign? Probably not. But he does owe his constituents for having to endure this nonsense, and I hope will work doubly hard to redeem himself.

Thanks to the Lewinskey ordeal, our expectations for public officials have become so low that many consider this behavior (e.g., prostitution, money laundering) acceptable. Is it ok to spend tax payers' dollars to investigate this or to totally distract Albany over this? For those who think this is ok, what crimes or inproprieties are large enough to warrant a resignation?

Why should he not go>>???

much ado about nothing.

He should resign, not because I care about him buying prostitutes, but because he won't get anything done in Albany any more. He lost his credibiliy.

Whatever I may think of his actions, I think it's probably better to resign, although I hate to say it. The nature of the American public is such that this will never cease to be a political liability for him, and it will make it extremely hard for him to accomplish his goal of cleaning up corruption in state government.

Besides that, I think that if Governor McGreevey resigned for being gay, which is neither a crime nor a sin (by the way, I think he should not have resigned), then Spitzer should resign for this minor crime and sin.

Regarding something you had said, Brian, I think there is one more victim--the sex worker. My mind goes first to the tragedy and exploitation of sex workers, even very well-paid ones. It's such a sad reflection of our culture and on the standing of women, that first of all, this holds any appeal for men(baffling!), today, and the historical tragedy of prostitution and the grim prospects of women in western society.

THERE'S a show...

Spitzer doesn't have a trusted friend that could have made the arrangements for him? He placed the call himself?

In this era of microscopic scrutiny, how can he as a public figure, think he would have gotten away with having a rendevous with a call girl?

If you are that stupid, I dont want you governing the state where I live.

SPITZER SHOULD NOT RESIGN.

Gov Spitzer should not resign.
There are far more important issues to consider than Gov Spitzer's sexual activities. In political history, he is in good company in his sexual habits. This isn't our business as long as he isn't using tax dollars. Unfortunately, he has shown poor judgement but this is a personal matter.
This seems to be yet another veil to block out important news; the dumbing down of America. It also appears that this may be a vehicle to destroy the reputation a politican and a political party, in a presidential election year. It is interesting that the media picks and chooses which affairs to exploit.
It would be interesting to find out why the bank did not first ask Gov Spitzer about the activity on his account. This seems suspicious without full disclosure.

Yes, he should resign. When one presents himself as an arbiter of law, morality, and ethics, then he holds himself up to a higher standard and, therefore, also suffers a heavier consequence when "breaking the law." The real world is that prostitution is illegal, whether or not one feels it should be. Governor Spitzer knew this full well. This hurts the Democratic party's ideals more than it hurts the actual party and Governor Spitzer is a symbolic face of those ideals. The people behind those ideals need a different person representing them.

Spitzer should get out today. Anyone who has made a career out of being arrogantly self-righteous as Spitzer is will have no credibility or political leverage left.
Further, any politician who gets into trouble, particularly of a sexual nature, and trots his wife out to stand by his side, is a coward with no class and no regard for the well being of the for women with whom he shares a home. Just once, I'd like yto see one of these women listen to the apology and haul off and slap his face publicly. He (and McGreevey, Craig, Clinton,et al) deserves no less.
I am a liberal libertarian, and believe that there should not be laws against prostitution or drug use. It is not about whether he violated laws involving money laundering or prostitution; his credibility is shot. And his arrogance is out of control. He may have violated the lw in trooper gate. He certainly doesn't answer all the questions his behavior has raised.
Get out now!

#126

I rekject the extreme white and black opposites you set up

Do I "like" it from a governor? No. Never said I "liked" it.
Do I care? No...unless he's doing something illegal with my funds to do so...but no in the scheme of things I don't think sex is such a big deal, sorry. That IS puritanical

and I would like to hear such an almost universal cry for the war criminal Bush to resign....haven't heard it yet so considering that the reaction seems a BIT over the top here

Spitzer should not resign unless and until it becomes clear that this event has been used successfully to block his reform program.

Perhaps this is an opportunity for New Yorkers to grow up about paid sex that doesn't involve coercion or brutality.

The bank doesn't "just come across" this. You could see it in Joe Bruno's eyes when he was tsk-tsk-ing yesterday. They got him. Spitzer's attempt to smear Bruno was so sadly amatuerish, now Joe's shown us all how it's done. Majority saved.

I think that the Governor wanted to be caught. The fact that he used his real name at the hotel is one indicator of this. But his performance as Governor has paled by comparison to his performance as Attorney General. There's probably more to this story, just as there was more to the story involving Gov. James McGreevey. Getting caught up in a sex trst may be Spitzer's easiest way to leave office before far worse news comes out.

As for the impact on the Democratic presidential candidates, this could help Hilary Clinton. She's been there and maintained her honor and dignity and won high marks for this. Some voters may very well make a comparison to her marital history and the Spitzer affair and vote for her as the dignified and stoic candidate.

Brian, aren't you suppossed to be off today? : )

I think prostitution should be legalized (there's a reason why they call it the oldest profession)AND zoned. But Spitzer should resign because right now it is illegal. And I'm worried about the money angle. I don't like it when people claim all politicians are crooks, but right now I undersand the feeling; I am so disillusioned and disappointed now, anything he proposed as Governor I could not take seriously.

And those who point to Clinton should understand that that was not an impeachable offense. I think what Spitzer did, is.

How can a Governor, a state's chief executive officer be expected to enforce the state's laws when he opens himself to blackmail & worse by engaging in business with organized crime in such a foolish manner? Isn't it true that organized crime runs the prostitution & illegal drugs industries? Can u be expected to vigorously enforce the law against an organization that runs drugs, prostitution, and other illegal activities if u enter into a secret relationship with them as client numer whatever? Will they let u patronize their service in one area while ignoring your vigorous prosecution of their business in another? Is it rational to expect that organized crime has such "Chinese Walls" within or between their diverse business activities? Isn't it obvious what the public's interest is here? Unfortunately, this is NOT like many other private consensual sexual dalliances by public officials - i.e. private matters about which the public really should not be concerned.

Prostitution should be legalized and this so-called scandal should just go away. Spitzer is not guilty of high crimes here, and we have to keep it in perspective. There are those who want to bring the governor down one way or another. This news has all the markings of a politically motivated conspiracy.

Perhaps Spitzer should resign for other reasons, but NOT over this. Aside from his normal sop, Lehrer has at least correctly identified the real victims: Spitzer's wife & children. That makes this a family matter, not a legal one. Of far more concern is his circumvention of the laws regarding campaign donations. Last week, I heard an FBI official remark that counter-terrorism efforts have sapped the agency of the resources necessary for pursuing criminals who rob banks, yet they are pursuing this. In the wake of the Gonzalas' controversial firing of eight U.S. attorneys, it makes me wonder whether this was simply the pursuit of a prominent Democrat and the only question in my mind is whether the head of the FBI should resign.

Absolutely he should resign. This is a man who has shown that he does not respect the laws he is supposed to uphold. He does not respect women. He does not respect the voters who expect him to do their work. And he does not respect his family, considering the torture he is responsible for putting them through. Apparently, all these matters are less important than getting a little trim on the side.

I am a die-hard liberal, but I think he should resign. Furthermore, any Democrat who is excusing his behavior should be ashamed.

Prostitution should be made legal and there should be oversight as in any industry. Prostitution will never go away. And the prostitutes and the people who run the rings should pay taxes along with everyone else. It would be a very big revenue generating business. And instead of aspiring to be American idols, young women would strive to be a high class call girl! $5,000 an hour!!!! TAX THEM!

Elliot Spitzer should not resign. This Country
needs capable intelligent people to run this country. The embarrassment he and his family are going through is enough punishment. It is only human to make mistakes.there aint' not saints in this world.
Only in America people are concerned about THE SO CALLED MORAL ISSUES. We have real problems, like the economy, immigration and better health care for ALL PEOPLE, LEGAL AND Ilegal people.

He should be held to the same standard that he applied to others. This is an issue of integrity, of which he appears to have none. No one, and in particular no legislator, should consider him/herself above the law. If he had been an average politician, this would have been a disappointment and a matter of serious concern, but given that he has made his career, his name, fighting corruption, he has no place left in politics. Maybe, like former gubernatorial candidate Jerry Springer, he should start a talk show...

Spitzer's behavior is indicative of his true view of women. i.e. Women can be viewed as sex objects, can be bribed,, can be trafficked across state lines. His view is surely the most degrading view of women. After working with women's groups in a third world country, I have seem vicous treatment of women, how mistreated they are, how they are raped every night, how they are 3rd class citizens. How can we, as leader of the free world, tolerate tratment of women like this from our high level leaders?

I am glad that the spitzers are still in love, I don't think our high level leaders should be treating women in such a degrading fashion.

Republicans get busted for this kind of stuff all the time and it hardly even makes the papers, let alone any serious calls for resignations.

I'm a progressive. I voted for him. Yes, he should resign. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. He's now a liability to every cause he supports.
Yes, it's a comparatively minor crime. Bush and Cheney's crimes are far worse and of greater magnitude. Yes, men tend to think with their groins. But, he should resign for being so arrogant and reckless.
The urgent need for reform of the government of this state now has a very uncertain future thanks to Spitzer's arrogance and stupidity.

How can Spitzer push any kind of reform agenda at this point? His moral authority is shot, his credibility is shot. Let Paterson have a go. And I completely agree that the media hedging about his suitability to govern is shameful. The guy's been blind all his life - he obviously has it figured out by now!

He broke the law. He should resign. I hope he does so quickly because it would be horrible to have another democratic sex scandal.

This is all so sad, especially for Mrs. Spitzer and their three daughters. However, I wish that people would stop comparing this with Bill Clinton and other pols who had legal, consensual affairs. Governor Spitzer patronized the sort of escort service that he himself prosecuted as Attorney General. His credibility as an elected official is shot, and he should resign.

However, the fact that finite law enforcement resources are expended on ridiculous targets like escort services is a scandal in itself. Aren't there enough REAL crimes to go after?

It seems it's always the most self-righteous, pontificating and arrogant politicians are the ones who get caught breaking the law...the ethical, moral and governmental law.
Another NY prosecutor who betrayed his constituency and family. Appalling.
Time to step down.

As a previous avid supporter as of yesterday morning, I am highly disapointed, and believe he should resign

Yes, he MUST resign. How can you give him credit for all his work as attorney general when he was as much a part of the problem?

He's betrayed his family and the public. If the man has any morals, he'll step down.

Sorry, Regina, but it makes no difference what his party is. He is the governor of the state, for all people - republican , democrat or independent.

The miss use of power by the Bush administration is a non-sequitor. The comment is out of place here.

I like Gov. Spitzer. Quite by accident I saw him and a few other officials on Fulton St. on Fri. announcing a grant to small businesses. I thought that he was concerned about the little business owners there and that he (like me) is idealistic enough that he thinks he can do something to help.
Yet I think he should resign. He built his reputation on honesty and integrity and he was elected because he was thought to embody those values. His financial machinations showed that this addiction was on going and, he hoped, would continue in secret for a long time. I am very disappointed in him and wish a time of healing for his lovely family.

Yes, soliciting prostitution is a "lesser" crime, but it is a crime nonetheless, moreso if Spitzer shuffled money to hide it. If he's going to be prosecuted for this crime (and presumably found guilty), he needs to resign, if for no other reason than it will put yet another strain on an already tension-laced state government. Let's save the debate over whether prostitution is a "real" crime for later; it's on the books now and has to be dealt with as a crime.

I personally don't care whether Spitzer has sex with someone other than his wife; if he'd had a consensual affair, there wouldn't be any reason to resign. But he knew it was a crime, he prosecuted others for prostitution. Why should he get special treatment?

#100

It pains me to hear progressives react like base puritanicals

Gov Spitzer,
Should not resign, most of the call for his resignation is politcal. Yes he has made a significant personal blunder but this should not affect his public life. He is a great thinker and New York need great thinkers.

He should remain gov. It's just sex. Why do we get so crazy about it. Why do you all relish this news? What's wrong with us? It's just sex.
That's all folks!

On the bright side, I hear David Patterson is well-respected on both sides of the aisle in Albany, so maybe they'll be able to get more done with the budget and on other issues with a less polarizing figure helming the state government. For the state, it could be a blessing in disguise.

1. This should not be a resign-able offense, and boy, if he were a Republican, he would tough it out, hang in there and in general, have no shame whatsoever.

2. On the other hand, it's a long way to November, when we may get Democratic majorities in both Albany houses, and 'til then, he may not be able to get anything done.

3. If he stays, it could hurt the Dems in November, which he needs to consider, as the putative leader of the state party.

4. And it would be something if Patterson became, both as our first black governor, but also as proof of how limitless the possibilities can & should be for the disabled (i.e., he is legally blind).

Spitzer should not resign. Although, I am quite disappointed with him for this matter, I feel he still has a strong agenda to better NY state.
He should be punished like anyone else who committed the crime of going to a prostitute, but not tied to the stake as his enemies would like.

Well that's why it's dumb to make any decisions about what he should do until it all comes out. Stop deciding based on the drips and drabs.

He should resign. It's not just about the act itself, it's about being complicit in a system guilty of gross human rights abuses.

Not really a NJ matter, and the crime is not so terrible.

However, I feel he should resign after prosecuting a lot of innocent people on Wall St.

That Silda Spitzer story -- her wanting her husband to stay on as governor -- appeared in The New York Times.

Hopefully, this will start a dialogue about the logic of keeping prostitution illegal, but the truth is I doubt it.

Resign? No.

I think there's a bit of a double standard going when people say "oh, who cares he broke the law, it's a small thing and he's so talented and doing good things."

If any of us broke the law, we'd be arrested, regardless. They should be held to the same standard as us AND HIGHER.

AND when prostitutes get arrested, nobody's on their side and saying "oh well, girls will be girls." (And some would say they are also 'doing good things.')

He should resign on his own accord. He blew it.

He should resign, and do it quickly, if only to minimize the damage to the state government and to the democratic presidential contenders.

Prostitution should not be a crime, and that isn't the issue. The issue is that this former attorney general violated the law as he knew it and attempted to cover up his activities while preaching from the moral high ground. As in most cases, it is the cover-up (in this case before the fact) that is the more important issue.

What would Attorney General Spitzer demand if Governor Pataki were implicated in a prostitution ring? Spitzer has to resign.

This is a no-brainer. He must leave office.

Spitzer's main offense is criminal hypocrisy. I would believe what he did was his personal business except for his vitriolic denounciation of prostitution during his bust of a prostitution ring in Staten Island when he was a prosecutor. He felt moved, at the time, to point out the ties of prostitution to human trafficking and drugs. If he believed that, how can he participate in this? He should resign.

I don't think he should resign. Are the authorities going after all the other "Johns"? I don't think so. It's a private matter, BUT that's exactly why the media won't ever let this go. So, I don't see how he's going to shake this off.

His resignation will be a vote for people power and a vote against the hubris that seems endemic to our “leadership”

No, he should not resign. I think he needs to humble himself before the voters while actively going against truly egregious crimes.

its not a personal matter people..its prostitution its not legal

From a purely theoretical point of view, I don't think he should resign (and I don't think this should be such a big issue). However, given the reality of our political environment, and his already weakened state from previous mistakes, I think he's lost too much credibility to be effective any more.

Why was so much money and resources wasted on THIS? There are REAL problems in the world. I hope he stays on -- humbled and chastened, yes! -- to spite all the hypocrites and self-righteous who are so "outraged" and "gleeful."

#93

yeah...it's amazing to me...this guy goes to a prostitute and there is an almost universal call for him to resign

Bush, Cheney, et al start an illegal war invade a sovereign country who did not attack us and was not a threat, don't provide enough troops, don't provide the troops that were deployed with proper equipment, are responsible for the deaths of thousands and there isn't a universal call for them to resign or be impeached? I think Spitzer messed up because he set himself up as such an ethical guy but....come on:

PRIORITIES, PEOPLE!!!!

Spitzer should not resign. America needs to grow up. Drugs and prostitution should be legalized and regulated.
Phony, self-righteous thinking is what allowed born-again poser George W. to become President.
What goes on behind closed doors between consenting adults should remain private. What goes on between husbands and wives is their business.
As Mark Twain wrote long ago "Every man has a dark side.."

he should resign-he is not above the law!

To develop on Mark's comment above, I would add that public and private life are seamless. Someone who is unethical at home will also be unethical in the office. Your boss is a jerk? I have news for you: he's a jerk at home to his wife and kids too.

Further, having an affair is almost never about the sex - it's about relationship flaws, inability to communicate, loneliness.

In this light, let's think about whether we really want this guy in office.

I vote no. I supported him. I'm crushed. But he's got to go.

And you thought you were going to take a day off.

As Harvey Fierstein once said, "All men are pigs."
I would amend that to 80%.

Let him stay. He might get less arrogant through this mess.

r

I am so sick of the hypocrisy of "leaders" telling the rest of us how to act and thinking that they are above the law. Gov. Spitzer should resign and get his house in order.

About the bank reporting Spitzer's accounts -- don't you think, with all the enemies he had in the financial industry, that someone prompted the bank to watch his accounts more closely than they watch others' accounts?
To me it seems likely that this is how it started.

Yes he should resign. The fact that other politicians have survived scandals such as this is irrelevant. He can't provide leadership with this kind of cloud over his head. The functioning of government will be severely compromised just as it was during Bill Clinton's scandal.

And we will never hear the end of it in the Presidential campaigning!

Aside from all the other issues that will be debated here,the question of whether Spitzer was targeted by the Justice department should be explored by the media. Was the bank's reporting really routine, and, if so, was special attention being paid to this bank because it was Spitzer's bank. Ironically,The use of government resources for political purposes is a far worse crime than anything Spitzer may have done here.

I don't think he should resign if in fact he's not charged with an actual crime. Should he grovel at the feet of his wife-yes! But in the end this may not have anything to do with whether he can do the job.

He is the Governor of NY. He shouldn't be committing crimes. He ought to resign and be prosecuted.

I totally think prostitution should be legal but it's not and as the Governor (and an ex-Attorney General who prosecuted prostitution) he should be held responsible.

I believe Spitzer should resign because he has lost all credibility. Anytime he attempts to take any moral stand on an issue, how can he be believed or taken seriously? He would have no ground to stand on. He has lost his ability to govern.

In response to Ruth Mullen, comment #25:

In some ways, this is a more honest and decent sexual act than was Clinton. Sure, Lewinsky wasn't paid...but as a young intern she was swayed by the power and presence of the president. He used his political power as a means to gain sexual power.

I would say spending $4,300, in many ways, is a less despicable, less misogynistic act.

He should resign- not just because he acted immorally but because the fall out from this scandal will inevitably effect his ability to govern this state. There is too much important work to be done to have such a huge distraction in the mix (a distraction caused by HIS OWN actions).

Absolutely resign. His arrogant pursuit of the securities and financial industry in New York has ruined hundreds of lives and businesses over what, in many cases, were minor issues or lapses in judgments. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

I think the NY Times editorial summed up things well. Spitzer's continued arrogance is baffling.

I don't think he should resign because he solicited a prostitution ring (in my mind, a victimless crime so long as trafficking is not involved). I think he should resign because he is a hippocrite and because he entered the office with such self righteousness.

(I voted for him and consider myself a progressive democrat).

Even the $10k limit is an old figure. Maybe all that should be changed in these days of billions and trillions of dollars being thrown around. And I don't know if he should resign. I think he should think seriously about it discuss it with his family and then make a choice.

I think that the Governor wanted to be caught. His performance as Governor has paled compared to his performance as Attorney General. The fact that he used his real name at The Mayflower tells you something right there. I think there is more to the story and just like Gov. McGreevey, he's looking for an escape hatch.

As for the impact on the Democratic candidates, this could help Sen. Clinton. She was the victim of a similar tryst and in public, at least, maintained her honor and dignity.

He should resign.

Apart from anything else, it shows incredibly bad judgment to think he could get away with this while in such a public office.

How could anyone continue to respect a senior official who acted in such an arrogant and boneheaded way?

what's the big deal? really! it's a private matter.

Clarence Thomas sexually harassed a woman and he's one of the 9.

It's time we stopped equating sexual pecadilloes with political competence.

Of course he shouldn't resign.

I do not think Spitzer should resign. HE was a hypocrite in his personal life but he has done a great deal of good and should be able to do more, although no question that he will be weakened.

There is so much focus on Spitzer and the rights and wrongs of his engaging of a sex worker in Washington DC. I would very much like to hear more about what has happened to the sex worker involved in this case and others from Emperors' Club VIP. In this case, the management of the Emperor's Club VIP are facing between five to twenty-five years in prison for various crimes. Is this fair? Should our tax dollars be used to support a federal investigation into consensual sex work?

He should not resign. He will pay a very high price personally. That should be his punishment. Sex has nothing to do with politics. His only real "crime" was being caught.

I think that many people are missing one of the main problems here - the possible link of organized crime to prostitution rings. Involvement of the Governor - while looking like a private sexual matter - can lead to the possibility of blackmail of a public official. I believe his judgment is seriously compromised.

IT'S NOT SEX. It's prostitution. PROSTITUTION IS ILLEGAL. There is a gigantic difference here. I could care less if Spitzer cheated on his wife. That is a personal matter and not the problem of the people of New York. But he broke the law, he tried to cover it up in apparently a complicated enough way that it raised red flags.

The issue of whether prostitution should be illegal is irrelavant here. It IS illegal.

He needs to go.

Yes, the hypocrisy of his actions results in a loss of public trust. For that matter, I think the whole Bush administration should resign as well...

I think he needs to go. He has absolutely no credibility and will be--at best--completely politically impotent--ironic ain't it?

And let's face it, this may be just the tip of the iceberg.

Finally, who is so stupid that they can't hide some cash transactions? Dummy corporations? IRS investigations? This guy is either really dirty or really incompetent.

I voted for Spitzer. I was excited. I found myself caught up in his rhetoric of change. Having said that, I am extremely dissapointed in him. His behavior was immoral and hurtful to his wife and children. Am I being moralistic? Maybe, but I firmly believe that cheating on your spouse is wrong, and I have lost all respect for him because of it. He should resign.

Spitzer should not resign! He might have been entrapped by the Feds.

The thought of New York State Majority Leader Joseph Bruno becoming Governor if Paterson doesn't become governor is truly frightening!

Chuck and ab you think we're too puritanical so you like this from a NY governor

as a former attorney general, and someone who has built up and image of ethical and moral rectitude, he has destroyed his credibility and should resign

No he should not resign. Having sex with a woman who is not his wife is a personal matter for him and his family and has nothing to do with what kind of Governor he is. Although he committed a crime according to our current laws, prostitution should not be illegal.

He should resign. Like a band-aid, pull it off fast and painfully.

No, he should not resign. This thing reeks of a sting. I'd like to see them publish the rest of the client list of this escort service. This has Joe Bruno all over it.

Should not resign - someone has to represent the sinners of this world. One caveat, a tip of the iceberg issue. Is he, as presented, a one-time screw-up, or has such behavior been manifold. If he has a problem with this, security issues and the like come into play.

of coursr this should not be about sex or prostitution itself...it is about Spitzer himself beingpuritanical and prosecuting other prostitution rings etc. He is not better than those evangelists who preach one thing andf then violate the very thing they stand up against. It's not about sex it's about the arrogance...asserting himself as better than anyone else and punishing people for it while doing the same things secretly.

If he has any respect for his family and his state and his party, he must resign.

he has done nothing against us? whaaat..this guy was involved in jailing people who were involved in prostitution why not him?..i don't give a s*&^* about his integrity its simple you break the law you go to jail..by the way its time to impeach George bush lets do it

He should apologize of course, and not necessarily resign. This is a tactical distraction.

Since his platform has been undermining corruption, he should resign.

resign now Mr Spitzer

Dershowitz's quote that opened today's show needs to be taken in context. Here's some context:

"He's the real deal," says Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor who hired Spitzer, in his second year at the school, as a research assistant in the 1980s to help on the Claus von Bulow defense. "He has a creative and innovative mind, and he always wants to do what's right."

Source: TIME Magazine
Monday, Dec. 30, 2002
Wall Street's Top Cop
By Adi Ignatius

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1003960,00.html

Slight adjustment of my previous wording:
Yes, he should stay!I have a bias. I have Parkinson's, and am a working therapist, poet, writer and mom, who has actively lobbying for research funding for stem cell research, all which fell on deaf ears in Albany until Spitzer arrived, and subsequently turned it all around, at last providing those of us with neurological disorders, the hope we needed, with his attention to, and generous funding towards, our cure. We are so grateful, and this far trumps his unfortunate but extremely common! sexual proclivities, (and weaknesses!)shared by, as we all know, too many men in power who can't keep it zipped in. But folks! Let's do triage and regroup: priorities, priorities!

Tough call - with Clinton, we knew it was just a matter of time. When Spitzer got caught, no one expected this ... he was arrogant for sure, but no one thought he'd do this. On the fence ....

My heart doesn't want him to resign. Things like this shouldn't be done in the heat of the moment.

If the charge is that he used a prostitute in his private life with his own money, then he should NOT resign.

He must resign based on hypocrisy. I'm a guy, and guys really must keep their pants on, especially when they're reformers!

He should resign. NY does not need to be paralyzed by tis.

Yes,a line needs to be drawn in the sand - where we stand on ethics.

I do not think Spitzer should resign. The rest of the world I'm sure is laughing at us for this - that a politician resign over soliciting a prostitute. Stupid, yes - resign, no.

Resign, unfortunately. I had high hopes for him.

Yes, resign. It would be different if he hadn't been so eager to prosecute others.

Stay

The guy who was after Wall Street bad guys is caught soliciting sex and what an irony and he should step down immediately.

Why we should tolerate such behaviors like we did few years ago for Clinton humilating their families in public and be bad examples for our children and stay in power?

New York in this difficult time of its budget deficit needs someone with clear conscious to help our state.

Tedla Asfaw

Flushing, New York

Yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Nevada

It pains me to hear my fellow progressives willing to equivocate on what is a very clear issue. He broke the law. He's sworn to uphold the law. If this were a Republican politician these same people would be demanding blood. In his reaction thus far it is quite clear that he's culpable. I think, and I hope, that this will end his political career. Stupid, arrogant, self righteous politicians have no place in our political system be they of either party.

Arrogance: The Poster Children

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/POLITICS/11/07/election.governors/story.spitzer.vic.gi.jpg

If he were a Republican, I would say: Resign.

Given how the justice system has been so corrupted by the Bush Administration, though, he should hang in there. It reeks.

I don't care about this at all. If he wants to go to a prostitute I don't give a godamm so long as he isn't using my tax funds for it. But due to the hystrionic attitudes toward sex in this country I think he's done politically.

The idea that he "should go to jail" mentioned in the first comment is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard.

This is a big deal, and it is not just an affair. The governor has solicited a prostitute. He has moved money around to hide the source of the funds. As Spitzer himself said, "I had a simple rule. I never asked if a case was popular or unpopular. I never asked if it was big or small, hard or easy. I simply asked if it was right or wrong."

Ha ha . Michael Winslow. he's the guy that does the sounds right?

I think it's a question for the NY Democratic Party, whether Spitzer is too wounded to continue in the job, or whether he needs to step down.

But...

I never again want to hear that WOMEN are too hormonal for any job in the land!

I think individual feelings on this are probably very multi-leveled. Most of us are unwilling to totally give up on a man for whom we've had such high hopes. Also, many of us believe the administration in Washington is guilty of greater crimes for which they should all be ashamed and should have resigned or been impreached.

But, then again, how many chances should we give him? He knew what he was doing was wrong--personally, normally, and professionally.

The people who NY1 interviewed were fools, and I don't trust NY1 to give an accurate poll.

The puritanical nature of This Country and more importantly, The Media is ludicrous. How antiquated and back minded. It’s sex. Who cares. Why is there so much attention to this? We have real issues happening here, unemployment, credit debt, no health insurance, folks losing their homes, soldiers with lousy benefits, a lawless war and officials that are criminals causing harm and death to thousands of people, i.e. Bush, Cheney, etc. When is the U.S. going to be forward thinking and regulate the sex industry? Resign? Where are we? Is this actually a first world country? What a bunch of judgmental simpletons you all are. His wife and his children is not our concern.

Spitzer should absolutely NOT resign. First, it's just sex. It's a personal matter and a minor legal infraction unrelated to his public service.

Second, the public is mostly tolerant of sexual shenanigans (as long as it's straight sex, of course), so his ability to govern should not be compromised - or if compromised, then only temporarily as his political enemies attempt to play the issue for all it's worth in the media.

Third, many of us believe this was a politically motivated sting, its snaring of Spitzer retroactively contrived to appear as incidental. His extremely wealthy political enemies are legion, and if this 'was' a politically motivated affair, it would be a shame to see yet another cabal of high-powered rich guys successfully achieve control of who leads and who does not lead in this country.

Bloomberg just paid half a million dollars in contributions to the Republicans to try and get control of NYS - Also I know an IRS prosecutor who told me if you want to make someone's life a livign hell, just give their ssn to the IRS and tell them you thinks something is fishy.

Spitzer has always been an arrogant, ruthless bully. There is no doubt that this public humiliation will make a better man and a better leader out of him.

I therefore think that he should NOT resign. In the end, New Yorkers will be getting a much better governor.

So someone moves money around to achieve what? What was he trying to achieve.

This is not Europe. This is not Neveda. This is NY. He should resign.

He HAS to go. This is not Clinton. This is not only adultery, this act was a crime! No ifs, ands, or buts. I liked him, I voted for him, but he is NOT above the law. In any other job situation, anyone else would be fired! I wish his wife and children well. The sooner he leaves the quicker they recover.

Eliot Spitzer should absolutelt NOT step down. I am not bothered by this revelation.
As a woman i find prostitution to be a tricky question to consider. It may seem arbitrary but i personally draw the line at the difference between "High-End" prostition where the prostitute can make a good living and possibly pay her/his way through college vs street walking and other low pay forms of sex for hire. If there were regulation of the industry and some garentee that 'pimping' or other forms of coersion were absent and that the sex workers were compensated well;society may benefit with some leagalization of the prostitution industry.

Yesterday I thought it was necessary for Sptizer to resign.

Then more details began to emerge, and oh so many questions.

Why did the Feds decide to out Spitzer and none of the other numbered clients? Why did they pursue the investigation after learning it was not public corruption (but only private immorality). Was this one of the Rovian USAttorney attempts to get Democratic politicians? (If you can't beat them in elections, we've seen with the Bill Clinton impeachment that Republicans will try to beat them jucidially--or at least assassinate their characters.)

I woke up this morning thinking we need to know much more about the Justice Department, NSA, and perhaps WH's involvement.

So, today, no, I lean toward his not resigning. Political considerations for the Democratic Party and for improving how the NYS government functions may make me chnage my mind.

The caller who talked about "pattern of behavior" captures what will be done with this information.

I'm not a NY resident, but I'm incredibly disappointed that his ability to govern will be damaged. Alas.

BTW, if I take cash out my bank to use to purchase something I'm breaking some kind of "structuring" law?

When listening to Dershowitz's specious arguments one cannot help but approach wonderment at his ignoring the big white elephant sitting in the middle of the room: Eliot Spitzer is a man who made his career out of prosecuting individuals on ethics issues and did so by employing the force of intimidation and government clout. All arguments about the crime are irrelevant faced with the enormous dereliction of public duty as a governor of a major state, who moved money around allegedly, in order to cover up what the majority of people think is a meaningless act. It is not a meaningless act to lose the public trust. If you want to end today's show with a de-moralization of the issue of prostitution, then all I can say is good luck as you head into the last days of Rome.

if he were Republican it would be a gay sex story

Spitzer has been a holier-than-thou type of guy from the get go. the way he went after bruno about the helicopter use the moment spitzer got into office absolutely reeked of partisan politics and was a clear signal that spitzer was on a major power-trip. that was scary and embarassing -- and i'm a democrat.

normally i would say this is between sptizer and his wife, but given spitzer's actions in the past i think this episode shows that he no longer feels that any rules apply to him. it's time for him to go now.

This is entirely a public issue. For a public figure of Spitzer's stature to engage in an illegal activity (whether it should be or not) is a total indication of where his priorities lie and the enormity of his ego. He betrayed the trust of his family and all of us in the state who's interests he should be protecting and advocating.

The issue here is not whether Spitzer can survive the legal implications of his actions--I suspect he can.

The issues as I see them are (1) whether he is willing to sacrifice his marriage in the pursuit of power, and (2) whether he can govern effectively with all the Albany investigations that will ensue to check if government funds were misused to facilitate his trists with prostitutes.

His wife does not strike me as a political animal a la Hilary Clinton. If I were she--assuming she wants to salvage the marriage--I would threaten divorce unless he step down to focus on his marriage.

I am disappointed in Spitzer but I am as surprised at the reaction of shock from politicos and the press who know the guy. Hiring prostitutes might be about dominance and the expression of power. Does anyone doubt that this guy has a monumental degree of arrogance and an outsized ego? Because he doesn't bring hookers on canoe trips with his daughters it's inconceivable that he'll hire a prostitute?
That said, I hope he's busy working on his succession plan and a lunch time resignation.

All of the debate surrounding the morality and legality of prostitution, personal failings, and such are interesting subjects but beside the point.

Spitzer's failure here is not just about action but also context. It is not just what he's done but who he is.

If someone accidentally sets their house on fire because they absent-mindedly leave a hundred candles burning, that is one thing. If the fire chief does the same thing, it is another.

Spitzer has to resign because he's drained his credibility and cannot continue to perform his job. Which is very sad, not only for him, but the rest of us who actually supported the job he was doing and/or could do.

This was not an affair of the heart...it was high level prostitution. A victimless crime? Hardly: consider the organized crime involvement, human trafficing, and abuse, disease and death of countless women. Elliot properly prosecuted organized prostition; partaking is not just a character flaw--it's a crime.

The personal part--which is only a part--is devastating. I have little feeling for Elliot, but for his wife and children, I am so sorry.

New York, you could have had honest, hardworking and smart John Faso. You went for the glitz instead.

Not knowing all the details of the case (money moving around etc.), I agree with one of the posts above regarding our lust for violence and blushing at sex. Bush should resign. The reaction to Spitzer's admittedly very very stupid mistake seems out of proportion. The only reason maybe he should resign is that if he doesn't it will cause so much furor that we'll all be focused on that instead the real problems of government. Again - this is not so much his problem as our culture's.

I am, like many other voters, deeply disappointed by the actions (wrong or right) of the man for whom I voted. It is not so much if it where morally reprehensible or not, but that this issue would be a given for crippling his term as governor. However, I am not sure whether he should resign or be impeached.

I am, however, reassured that WNYC can now, with validly, have the motto of "All the news on which it is fit to speculate" It is good to see Brian is taking a break from following the horse race to speculate on a news story of limited details. Thank you for joining the media fray

He should go to his bank and find out who is monitoring his accounts. I smell a political vendeta. Who filed the Suspicious Activity Reports and why? Rich people use shell accounts all the time - why did someone single this one out? I swear, there's more to this than sex.

I hope he resigns .. for nothing other than for being so stupid. We need a governor that is not stupid.

Was Spitzer an idiot? Yes, absolutely. Does he need to resign? That, to me, depends more on whether this is going to completely erase any semblance of influence in government. To me, a married man employing prostitutes is disgusting, but it's not necessarily a reflection on his ability to govern. However, in this country we have decided that it is a crime (one which Spitzer himself prosecuted!), and therefore Spitzer has probably completely destroyed his credibility. This means he probably won't be able to get much done as governor. Therefore, he should probably resign.

Coming from a European perspective, though, I think the American obsession with the sex lives of politicians is silly. Look at François Mitterand. The man had loads of mistresses, but there was never the suggestion that this had any impact on his qualities as a leader of the country.

I agree that this is a distraction. It's gross, but I don't think it has anything to do with his job. People like politicians to have "fire in the belly", like JFK, etc... they just don't like to admit it. I think it shows him to be hypocritical, but the voters who are salivating over this and demanding his resignation are being a little hypocritical, too.

The question is whether he's a hypocrite. Larry Craig was a hypocrite who was publicly very anti-gay. For that reason I thought he should resign. How much was Elliott Spitzer publicly and actively against prostitution?

I voted for gov spitzer. yeah it was stupid and ill thought out for him to go see a hooker. i think he is a good governor and his years of excellent public service should not be wiped out because of personal BS.
many public office holders have been guilty of far worse misbehavior and stayed. GW bush for instance has gotten thousands of people killed in this disastrous war in iraq. i think his crimes are far worse.
i vote for spitzer to stay.

And if he were a Republican... ?

I hate this "personal matter" argument! When it comes down to it, ALL criminal acts are "personal matters." If I decide not to pay my taxes, that's a "personal matter." If I hate someone enough to kill them, THAT is a "personal matter." If I steal from my neighbor, that is a "personal matter." More than the fact that he broke the law, Spitzer if the worst kind of hypocrite. And Democrats are hypocrites for continuing to support this man. And just for the record, prostitution is not a "victimless crime." You people who want to poo poo this as no big deal, you disgust me!!!!!

As long as there have been people in power, those people have sought sex. Why should we be shocked that it still happens? If this were any other society in history, there would be an official system of concubines/mistresses/wives/etcetera. It would be *expected*. We're the only society that places such a stringent expectation on public figures to be perfect model family men.

I'm not approving or disapproving, because it's not my job to approve or disapprove of a politician's private life. We are way too hung up on sex in this country. The caller who said that this is a distraction is correct.
The issue is not one of sexual morality. It's true that what he did was stupid and hypocritical. He will have to answer for that. But let's not pretend to be surprised by this kind of thing.

can't we get beyond the sexual peccadillos of men? Who cares? We have many more pressing issues to focus on.

that said, because of his past prosecutions, he will have a lot of issues to deal with.

We need to legalize black-market industries, and tax them - talk about economic recovery!

What is the big deal? So he had an affair. Politicians always have affairs. And don't tell me the people around him didn't know anything as they kept mum to keep their careers as well. If this were Europe, it wouldn't even be news.

My main gripe is he built his career on the morality ticket and now he's damaged himself to the point people will now read him as a hypocrite.
I had high hopes he could change things, but now he has no leverage.

Does anyone think that this ISN't the tip of an iceberg?

It's not about sex, it's about hypocrisy. He's simply too consumed by his own ego and arrogance. He will no longer be able to inspire respect from his consituents, and more important, from lawmakers in Albany, and New York as a whole will suffer. Being talented and smart is not a substitute for lacking humanity.

For me the issue is not morality as such, it is the deep hypocracy the is revealed that is so disappointing. Certianly prostitution should be legal if for no other reason than to protect the prositutes. It is difficult to trust him now. He shopuld probably be prosecuted in the same way as he prosecuted others. This is NOT about sin. That's ridiculous. Its about consistency and values. If he wants to see prostitutes that;s fine but then he should work on legislating for the protection of prosittutes and the legalization of prostitution.

Anyone who thinks he shouldn't resign should have their head checked.

He broke at least 2 crimes.

1. prostitution
2. having a prostitute move across state lines

Spitzer was already headed to defeat in the next election. He might as well get it over with and bow out now.

he should resign. Many many women are forced into this line of work they are kidnaped trafficed and held against thier will, Spitzers actions has contributed for the demand fo these socalled services. Why are you not talked about the enormous human trafficking problem? Why are you not talking about the realtionship this has to sex slavery? Why to go on ignoring the larger issues, when will you apologists take your head out of the sand?

Spitzer is correct when he describes this scandal as "a personal matter."

To sum it up: does the Governor of New York have any personal integrity? The answer is no.

Do the people of New York deserve a Governor with personal integrity? The answer is yes.

A man who lies to his wife and children will also lie to the voters.

Here, as elsewhere, baseball rules apply. Driver's licenses for the undocumented, strike one. Trooper-gate, strike two. Alleged money laundering and prostitution, strike three.

He's out.

yes it's true, powerful men do seem to have zipper problems - pressure release - make it legal!

A LEADER'S CREDIBILITY IS IMPORTANT.
And Spitzer's has been tarnished because
- Of his self-righteousness. He not only has conducted himself and campaigned as a reformer, but a self-righteous one. He's looking like a "moral majority" member.
- his poor judgement. As a former AG, he had to know the risks he was taking, and to do so, particularly while he's under fire in Albany, wreaks of recklessness and desperation.

Why was Spitzer's bank reporting his activity to IRS? Does anyone know how much cash was being moved around to make this qualify as suspicious activity? Do banks report on anyone who withdraws a few thousand dollars in cash?

My hunch is there's political motivation behind this -- from both the bank and the IRS. We need more details.

I do feel Spitzer should resign -- simply because of his prosecution of prostitution rings as Attorney General. Had he not had that record, I might feel differently.

When Bill Clinton got laid, nobody paid.

(with apologies to the bumper sticker: When Clinton lied, nobody died.)

I'd guess that in many European countries, e.g., Italy and France, this wouldn't even come close to this level of coverage and calls for resignation. We live in a very moralizing and largely puritanical society, at least in theory, if not in deed.

Forget about what he did to us or his wife, what about what he's done to his 3 teenage daughters? His wife is an adult, she can deal with it, but those girls - well, how are they supposed to cope with this public disgrace and humiliation? How could he do this to them? It's beyond despicable that he would harm them in this way. He's a monster and he should go - preferably somewhere far, far away.

NO Resignation.
There are bigger worries in this country and state than Spitzers Sex life.

He is a Hypocrit and i thought he was smarter than this but i dont care about this scandal. It does not affect me. His policies do.

Elections should not be overturned for isolated poor judgement.

I think Eliot Spitzer must resign. I would not say this if this were merely a question of an affair. However, as a former attorney general who's main agenda is cleaning up government, I can't see how he can govern effectually after this. He needs to move on for the good of his party and the good of the people.

I think that the term/phrase "Spitzer linked to prostitution ring" is overblown; it makes it sound like he was running the ring. Wouldn't it more accurate to have said "Spitzer patronizes prostitution service".
If he used public funds it is a different matter.

he needs to get out, what he did was illegal and unethical.

Why isn't anyone asking about the particular timing of this scandal? According to the New York Times today, the investigation, because it involved a highly placed official, had to obtain the approval of the United States attorney general. We know that Mr. Mukasey is a loyal Republican and isn't it just too, too, likely that this had a big political basis??? This has nothing to do with Spitzer's moral turpitude but how nice to distract and embarrass the Democrats right now???

I believe this is a politically motivated case. Yes, the bank may have alerted the feds, but the public revelations seem of a piece with the Rovian tactics of this administration. I believe the governor should stay in office. The republican Vitter, as you pointed out is still a U.S. senator after similar revelations (but notice that the salacious details weren't released by the feds in that case).

There is PUBLIC and PRIVATE morality. I would rather have a rascal like Bill Clinton or Eliot Spitzer, whose PUBLIC morality is good because they care about the wellbeing of the people, in office... than a personally pure politician whose PUBLIC morality is in the ditch because they don't care one whit about people who lack health insurance, decent housing, education, and jobs. Those are the real crimes!

Yes, he should resign. It's not about him having sex with a prostitute and outside of his marriage or comparing him with Bill Clinton (who stayed). It's not a moral question, it's a political question. He made a name of himself fighting corporate corruption, prosecuting prostitution rings, which he himself engaged on.

The news reports say he was involved in a prostitution ring---as if he was running it. He paid for sex a few times. It was stupid of him but not a sign of corruption.

I'm so sad, disappointed, let down...

He should have known better.

And yet, here's another reason prostitution should be legalized! (many) men just can't help themselves. Okay. But why illegal.

I had hopes that FINALLY, we could get a marriage equity law passed in NY with Spitzer in office.

But resign? No. ...just don't know how he can overcome the stigma (the media will constantly dog him with).

Hate to say it - but considering the precedent set by the government in Washington - in terms of lying to people to go to war, going against Geneva conventions and torturing people, ensuring that the public is overseen, having ties to corporate interests, firing judges, every headline that can be thought of from the past 7 1/2 years, why come down on a governor in New York for something that is - relatively - a private matter?

Very sadly, my opinion is that Mr. Spitzer must resign. It's not primarily about his private sexual practices, but the case seems to be that he broke the law in an aggregious manner that calls his character and ability into question.

Of course he should stay! As a working therapist/writer/poet with Parkinson's, his enormously generous contribution of support and public funds to stem cell research, and reforms of the sadly dead-locked NYS Legiislature, way, way trump the unfortunate problem men in power have with keeping it zipped in.

In my experience (I am 73) it is common practice for men of power and prestige in many walks of life--government,the professions, the arts--to have some sex on the side, either a long term mistress or a one-night bimbo or something in between. And yet the press and the public are constantly shocked and horrified when such revelations come along. It might be easier to figure out what Spitzer should do next if we recognized the truth about the initial offense, which is that it is ROUTINE in our society and many others.

Gov. Spitzer should stay.

This reeks of selective prosecution by a Bush controlled Justice Department.

He should stay, and fight as he has for the people of the State of NY for the past 10 years.

Yes - he should step down. This isn't just a private matter - this is a matter of a person who not only went to a prostitute, but was therefore well aware that a big prostitution ring existed. Its not as if he just picked a single woman up on the street, though I personally think its reprehensible. Not because an adult is having sex, but because I believe prostitution is exploitation of women. As Spitzer himself said, these rings are often involved in human trafficking, drugs and more. And, news flash for Alan Dersherwitz who thinks that the women are well paid for this - mostly the women give the money to the people who RUN the ring. And most prostitutes make nothing - most are desperate and just making enough to live, or support their kids. Ugh. Spitzer makes me sick - his stupidity and his arrogance. And yeah, I feel sorry for his wife and daughters.

Give me a break! "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone". The man has done nothing against us, his constituents. This is between him and his wife.

Let him stay unless there is something of substance prior to this that makes him unqualified.

Actually, what bothers me the most about his action, and to wish we had a different governor, is that he had to be stupid to conduct himself the way he has. But I do not think he should resign.

Eliot Spitzer was elected as a clean guy, *NOT* as a man who had his private demons. For me, I think it's the disappointment and betrayal of trust. I say resign. I was definitely a Spitzer supporter, but now I say go.
BTW, at my gym this morning, everyone was talking about - from the gym floor to the locker room. He didn't have a lot of support.

he should resign- that he wanted sex without a condom
is a matter for his wife to deal with - that he transported a prostitute across state lines- well he broke the law..

not fit to be governor -

I think he should stay in till we all find out just what happened, who is involved with this - I smell setup big time. I also think this is too easy a way to ruin public servants - so we should do like the Dutch and legalize it - the sex workers would have protection and the real crimes would get punished.

As a dem, it infuriates me that we gives these Pols a great mandate and they spend it dropping their pants.

Somehow Bill Clinton has a warm fuzzy glow around him these days. What I remember is that a list of progressive reforms were destroyed by his reckless oval office sexing of an intern.

I know Dems who claim that this is private life? Earth to them: There is no such thing as a private life as President or Governor.

He must resign immediately. His hyprocrisy is too overwhelming. He would have had no mercy on anyone if the roles were reversed.

Let's draw some distinctions here, this situation is not comparable to Clinton, who was having sex with another consenting adult.

I don't think he should resign. If he didn't break the law, I think we should keep him. Also, this goes to show that people should not judge people's personal proclivities. The most morally ardent politicians end up participating in unorthodox sexual activities. Don't legislate sex or personal preferences in terms of vice!!! All humans are susceptible. We shouldn't punish people for these minor flaws, only for crimes against other humans.

You know, I do feel sorry for these guys (Bill Clinton and Spitzer). I think there is so much pressure on them, they just crack at a certain point and going for inappropriate sex seems to be one of the ways they crack. Also, both men have lovely wives with whom they're very close, wives they respect tremendously and so sometimes in that kind of situation, the man doesn't want to go "all out" with his WIFE - he wants to take it to someone he can be "down and dirty" with. In a strange way, it's a form of "keeping the marriage clean" - so I don't think it's the completely immoral thing that people take it to be on a more simplistic level - (not that I'm advocating it - just trying to understand it on a deeper level) - but of course there are so many people who do - and a good number of them are Republicans! - and of course they will make hay with this!
I'm with Alan Dershowitz - the Governor should not resign unless the situation becomes untennable.
Joan Rosenfelt
New York

We have a president who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, yet no one calls for Bush's resignation.

Meanwhile the Times and others are in a snit over Spitzer's personal sex habits. Give us a break.

Americans have to get over their endless lust for violence and their pathetic repression of sexuality.

he was a serial breaker of the law...

Typical Democrat politician, in the same mold as Clinton....RESIGN, RESIGN! NO morals!

He should stay. He's the man!

hmmm, he BROKE the law...he should resign.

hmmm, he is funding an illegal enterprise which he doesn't even know the outer reaches of: he should resign.

SPITZER SHOULD HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE AND PROCLAIM "I AM A STRAIGHT AMERICAN" AND THEN RESIGN.

Spitzer should have resigned yesterday.

I'm so sick of seeing loyal wives (or wives who appear loyal but might be thinking of butcher knives) standing next to their hypocritical husbands.

Finally, your news people keep saying Paterson would be governor if Spitzer resigns unless Paterson "denies" the job. Huh? Do they mean unless he "declines" the job.

Powerful man hiring a high-end prostituted. Imagine my shock and awe. This happens all the time. Did he steal from the taxpayers? Did he give no-bid contracts to his family or friends? No. He lied about sex.

I grew up in Illinois...if our governor did this, it'd be page 5 news. We expect far worse from our governors in Illinois.

Should he be castigated and made miserable by his wife and his synaogue? Definitely.

Should he resign? No. Its a moral issue. The agenda he came into office with is the one people voted him in on. That hasn't changed. We need Spitzer to rein in the wolves of Wall Street.

When I saw this late last night, my heart sank. I have followed Spitzer's career and admired his tenacity as attorney general. Finally, I thought, here's someone with some backbone and guts.

Unfortunately, I now learn that he is no better than anyone else in power -- both public or private. Greed, dishonesty, shamelessness, hypocrisy -- it seems to be as common as oxygen once people reach a certain income/status/political level.

Spitzer is an embarrassment ot eh D party. He should get out of Dodge ASAP.

Why is the David Paterson succession issue continually couched in "...should he turn down the job..." I've never heard of such hedging. He's the next in line. Why is this news cycle hedging like this? Why is there an assumption that there's a chance me might turn down the job if Spitzer resigns?

He prosecuted prostitution rings. Would he have sent himself to jail? Of course he should resign.

Governor Spitzer should not resign! Remember the Clinton impeachment, folks? Remember the pledge, then, of every democrat: "We don't care about the private sex lives of public servants!"

Really, you may find sex work distasteful, but it has nothing to do with his job as governor. It's a private matter.

Brian: Weren't you supposed to take today off? Was your vacation day a casualty of the scandal?

He's done. I mean, if he decides to stay out of principle, and somehow isn't thrown out of office, the government will grind to a halt. He needs to resign and remove himself as the roadblock to progress.

It seems all too "Portnoy's Complaint" to be real. What would Philip Roth have Elliot Spitzer do?

there is no reason Spitzer should resign. He never claimed to be a moral-Calvinist, even though as part of his job he had to prosecuted two prostitution rings in the past. this is between Spitzer & his wife.

Of course he was cheating on his wife. He’s an ALPHA-MALE that’s what they do, but who pays $4000 for sex? That’s ridiculous couldn’t he find a groupie or something. the press should let it drop now that it's out in the open. non story for me. out dated laws morality should not be legislated.

the bigger issue to me is it a common practice of the federal government to track bank account actives or is this done only to democratic governors by republican administrations?

why do so many men cheat? should prostitution be a crime? also why do democrats like to shoot themselves in the foot

leave him alone!
we all wish we could engage in such sexual escapades!

Brian, didn't you say at the end of yesterday's show (before the Spitzer news broke) that you'd be taking today off?

I took your impending absence from the show as a sure sign that the Gov's political career would end today. But if you're on the air--maybe not much will happen today.

Please, can't yall figure it out? Spitzer was undercover. He was not a John, he was only acting the part and will be cleared by Friday. Oh please, he is still in character.

Someone I heard said he should go to the hottest part of hell.

As a voter of Spitzer he should of course resign and throw himself at the mercy of the justice system.

However he'll get off (again :))on nothing more than a parking ticket because politicians in this country are above the law and not held accountable to the laws they create.

He should go to jail.