By Joe Guzzardi
03/14/2008
In mid-January, I wrote a column about the departed and now former New York governor Eliot Spitzer ironically titled, "Not Gone Yet — But Going?"
Spitzer’s gone for sure — and what an exit!
I had 2010 in mind when I speculated that the illegal alien loving Spitzer might soon be out of office. With his approval rating hovering around 25 percent because of his immigrant pandering and mean-spirited style, I hoped voters would reject him at their earliest opportunity.
Who could have imagined that as I was writing my column, Spitzer was living a double life as "Client-9?"
In an effort to avoid further disgrace (an impossible goal), Spitzer resigned this week; that’s great news for all of us.
Mr. High and Mighty has an "addiction," as the New York Post put it, to sex — but, unfortunately for Spitzer, the object of his unquenchable craving is not his wife. [80G 'Addicted To Luv Gov', Fredrick U. Dicker, New York Post, March 12, 2008]
Whether you take a hard line toward Spitzer or a forgiving one, his immediate future will be nothing but a nightmare.
Spitzer hopes to plea bargain, something currently out of the question according to white-collar criminal defense lawyer Thomas Puccio.
Said Puccio: "It would be very unlikely for the U.S. attorney in these circumstances, until all the facts are in, to cut a deal." [Feds Making Their Case Against Eliot, By Kati Cornell, New York Post, March 13, 2008]
Absent deal making, among the probabilities awaiting Spitzer because of his tawdry behavior are indictments, prosecution, conviction and disbarment. The only hint of good news for Spitzer is that he’s unlikely to serve jail time, although that too is a possibility.
As more becomes known about "Kristen" and the Emperor’s Club VIP — the media has sent dozens of reporters out on full time assignments to find out all they can — ,Spitzer is certain to suffer personal embarrassments while the salacious details unfold.
A New York lawyer I spoke with this week told me:
"Absolutely anything can happen. 'Kristen' dropped out of high school after her sophomore year and has admitted struggling with drugs. She’s considering a Penthouse magazine feature. Who’s to say that 'Kristen' didn’t secretly take compromising photos of Spitzer on her cell phone? She certainly knew who her client was."
Eventually, Spitzer will vanish from the front pages. Then, miraculously, he'll re-invent himself ala Michael Milken, the convicted Wall Street financier who spent two years in jail. Spitzer will start a charity or donate millions to a worthy cause and his scandalous behavior will be ancient history.
One of the most intriguing elements of the Spitzer case has nothing to do with the former governor but rather the comment often repeated by the talking heads: "This is a great tragedy for the family."
And while cheating on one’s spouse unquestionably alters the family unit’s dynamic and may ruin it forever, I note with interest the resiliency of at least several "victims" of "sex addicts" and how they have thrived post-disgrace.
Let’s look at three prominent examples.
Senator Clinton is currently in a neck-and-neck race for the Democratic presidential nomination. She has a one in three chance to return to the scene of her husband’s indiscretions.
Upon completing her education, Clinton took a job at the high-paying consulting firm of McKinsey and Co. in New York.
When last seen, Clinton was actively campaigning on behalf of her mother. In fact, Chelsea has replaced her bumbling father as Hillary’s number one supporter.
Some consider Chelsea, now said to be a "fashion plate" and a crowd favorite, so adept in front of the microphone that they predict that she will soon be launching her own political career with her eyes set on the White House. [Chelsea’s Morning, By Lloyd Grove, New York, February 24, 2008]
Between then and now Ms. McGreevey, frequently seen on CNN during the Spitzer travail speaking as the voice of experience as the injured woman, has published a book titled Silent Partner and has won awards for her work in dozens of charities including the March of Dimes.
Of special interest to VDARE.COM readers is that Matos McGreevey, a Portuguese immigrant and member of the Portuguese American Congress of New Jersey, has coordinated naturalization and voter registration campaigns for immigrants for more than twenty years.
As bad as the Spitzer case is, it isn’t worse than either the Clintons' or the McGreeveys' in terms of total public humiliation. Yet, those most closely involved — wives and daughters — have blossomed.
What will become of Silda Wall Spitzer?
Given that, according to the New York Times, she never wanted to be first lady to begin with, she’s immediately better off.
And as a youngish, attractive Harvard Law School graduate who runs in the best and wealthiest New York circles, it’s hard to imagine that Wall Spitzer won’t soon be putting the Eliot mess behind her — assuming she decides to leave him. [Her Next Job: First Lady of New York, By Eric Konigsberg, New York Times, November 10, 2006]
Or if, like Hillary, Wall Spitzer decides to stay married, she can resume her career as a high-powered corporate lawyer and run her "Children for Children" foundation in whatever spare time she may have.
As Spitzer leaves the political scene, one cautionary note emerges. His replacement, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, is thought by some to be "more liberal" than his predecessor. How that could be possible is unclear.[Lieutenant Governor Has a History of Defying the Public’s Expectations, By Sam Roberts, New York Times, March 11, 2008]
One prediction we can safely make is that Paterson is unlikely to bring up driver’s licenses for illegal aliens.
Spitzer’s "addiction" to that idea marked the beginning of the end for him.
Joe Guzzardi is the Editor of VDARE.COM Letters to the Editor. In addition, he is an English teacher at the Lodi Adult School and has been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1988. This column is exclusive to VDARE.COM.
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