Aides Say They Expect Spitzer to Resign

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The New York Times

Top aides to Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Tuesday morning that they expect the governor to resign his office, although the timing of the resignation remains uncertain.

Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson and his staff have begun laying the groundwork for him to take over as governor and are reaching out to members of the Legislature, the aides said.

The developments came a day after law enforcement officials said the governor was a client of a high-priced prostitution ring broken up last week by federal authorities.

In Manhattan, shortly before noon, security barriers were set up in front of Mr. Spitzer’s Fifth Avenue residence, where more than 70 reporters crowded outside. Mr. Paterson was at his residence in Schenectady.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/nyregion/11cnd-spitzer.html

[qanda]

1. He should have resigned yesterday

[pattmarty]

9. Why? Because he's a Democrat and not a Republican?

[qanda]

13. No, I think he's a hypocrite, a liar and a cheat

I don't particularly care which party he belongs to. I was a big Eliot Spitzer fan and was shocked at this news. My view of him stepping aside has nothing to do with his party affiliation.

[defendandprotect]

21. Agree . . . now we have him leaving under a threat of GOP impeachment--!!!

Let's make clear that this is a betrayal of the trust that was given to him;
a betrayal of the people who supported him --- a betrayal of the Democratic Party.

Spitzer has harmed the trust anyone can feel in the party and its representatives ---

[Tab]

2. So the GOP wants him to resign over sex or face impeachment

Wars, lying, abuse of power (not referring to Spitzer here) are all okay to the GOP, but sex is always an impeachable offense.

Screw the American people and the economy and our international standing, but those "family values" are the most sacred.

Hypocritical assholes.

[Zensea]

4. It's not the sex, it's the hypocrisy

and the money laundering.

That is, if the charges are true.

[Tab]

19. And Bush, by comparison, is...

ethical?

I'm not saying anyone deserves a pass, but it bugs me that they get all riled up over sex, which really hurts no one (it's the only crime where it's okay to get it for free, but illegal to pay for it), before attacking the bigger stuff first. I wouldn't mind going after Spitzer if we took care of all the other "issues" from our leaders, but for everyone from Larry Craig (not that I'm defending him) to Bill Clinton to a zillion others to Spitzer, sex gives everyone the willies (no pun intended), while the really serious stuff no one wants to go after. They want to go after Bush first, and Spitzer second, that's fine with me. Yes, Spitzer took an oath, and what he did was inappropriate - particularly since I believe he was formerly an Attorney General (correct?) but Bush took an oath to uphold the Constitution. Spitzer's transgression hurts his family. Bush's hurts the country for decades to come and tens upon thousands of families, and that's only counting this country. THAT'S the part that pisses me off.

[defendandprotect]

23. Bush is a murderer; Spitzer was dumb -- these are simply parallel tracks ---

[Mike Daniels]

5. Actually, he broke at least one law and in doing so has proven to be a hypocrite

Even if voters don't expect their politicians to be perfect in their personal lives they should expect and demand them to be ethical in their professional lives.

Spitzer failed miserably in that respect and should resign given that people are in jail by his hand for doing nothing more than what's he's now catching heat for.

Republicans failing to hold their leaders to ethical standards is no excuse for giving Spitzer a pass on his transgressions.

[defendandprotect]

22. It's not the sex --- it's being this naive and selfish --- !!!

[Mz Pip]

3. No surprise.

Better he get out now than prolonging the mess. He let so many people down.

[onehandle]

6. Ed Schultz just said that he's holding transition meetings and the Lt. Governor is "in transit." nt

[coalition_unwilling]

7. He should resign when Larry Craig and David Vitter resign -n/t

[pattmarty]

8. Let me see if I have the pervert/family values score right...........

...... I believe it's Republicans 156,225, the Democrats 1. Is that right? Or maybe I missed a few hundred thousand Republicans?

[hezekkia]

10. we don't want our party to become theirs

we should hold ourselves to OUR standards. not to slimy Republican values. Craig and Vitter should also resign.

[pattmarty]

11. I totally agree, but it's a "little bit" one sided don't ya think?

[Flagrante]

12. Other western countries laugh at us for this kind of crap.

Once in Brazil the President was photographed with his mistress. It was a scandal! Not that he had a mistress, but that his mistress was not wearing any panties! That he had a mistress was taken for granted.

Spitzer took a hooker? Who cares? This is news? What a load of crap. Was he spending taxpayer money? Was he diddling little boys? Was he in a public restroom coming on to men? The guy spent his own money for the oldest service known. The woman was highly overpaid for her service. This is such a non-story it's sickening.

[RaRa]

14. This was a hooker, not a mistress

Big difference. It doesn't require a big debate over prostitution should be legal or not. It isn't. And Spitzer is/was a law enforcer. I don't give a hoot if somebody smokes a joint, but it better not be a cop. Don't you see the hypocrisy? To allow Spitzer to stay on as Governor would send a terrible message that committing a felony is no big deal. Sorry, I don't want my kids having that kind of crap to look up to - there's enough trash out there as it is.

[elocs]

15. There is such glee here when this happens to a Republican--turnabout is such a bitch.

This case is about lying, hypocrisy, and deceit and a betrayal of the public trust. Why don't we hold our own Democrats to a higher standard ourselves rather than childishly trying to excuse their behavior by claiming Republicans are worse? I realize that being Democrat and particularly Liberal is all about goodness and light, purity, truth and justice, embraced in our noble superiority that we know what is best for all in our infinite and all knowing infallibility. That is, when we are not busy destroying one another.

Of course he should resign just as we read of the gloating cries here for Republicans to resign who do similar things. Or does our hypocrisy know no bounds?

[Psephos]

16. elocs, as usual, says it well n/t

[ryanmuegge]

18. Who cares about who's fucking whom? I care only about policy.

Republican, Democrat or whatever, it doesn't matter what a politician does sexually.

[Dreamer Tatum]

27. I wish everyone was like you

...but if people want to say that what Spitzer did is is "private matter," then we have to allow that what Craig did was also a "private matter."

There really isn't much distinction between the two.

[bushmeister0]

17. Now I see why the Protestants were persecuted.

What a stupid country we live in! Nobody bats an eyelash when some nut walks into a classroom and blows away a few dozen people -- which happens every other week -- people will plop down their hard earned money to watch John McClain blow up a building over and over again, but watching two people have sex is a BIG. When it comes to some guy getting a hard-on, all bets are off. I understand the Spitzer cultivated a reputation for integrity and law and order, but common'. Have you ever seen the back pages of your local newspaper's sports section? It's all ads for strip clubs and escourt services.

I'm sure all those crooks on Wall Street are sleeping a little easier today.

I hate Allan Dershowitz, but he made a pretty good point on NPR's Day to Day a few minutes ago about politicians getting their pee-pees whacked and being able to do their jobs.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88104105

John Kennedy got us through the Cuban Missile Crisis while acting like a juvenile at night in the White House swimming-pool; Bill Clinotn did a fair job governing while playing with cigars; Thomas Jefferson wrote the constitution while doinking his slaves on his off hours:

So what's the big freaking deal?

I bet you dollars to donuts the very same people who are so obsessed with other people's gonads are the very ones who have the biggest problems. Look at the Catholic Church for Chris'sake! We've got the Church this week informing everyone they've come up with a whole new list of mortal sins, yet they've been enabling child molesters for decades and we're supossed to listen to them when it comes to sex? Why do closet homosexuals who supossedly never have sex have any business telling anyone what's right or wrong about what normal humans do with their sexual organs!

My God, let's just grow up.

[Tab]

25. I fully agree. I'm not electing a pope

I'm electing a governmental administrator.

"It's the hypocrisy, stupid". I have no problem going after people who hold themselves up as "pillars of the community" and are public homophobes, but privately do the opposite, but if they make no such claims, I don't care. I don't care if Bill Clinton was diddling a pet goat - he never claimed to be perfect, and the economy and government ran exceedingly well. I don't cheat on my wife, but if someone hired me for a particular job, my private life shouldn't be an issue either, as long as I don't hold myself up to be a paragon of virtue as an enticement to get elected.

I think the Clinton uproar was really just a means to an end. The Republicans cover it up as long as they can until they can't any more, then the person has to go. We clean house because we'd seem hypocritical otherwise. As a rule, I don't care, although I do agree with the concept that we're hypocritical if we don't apply the rules to our own people. That said, there's a lot of bigger problems facing this country beyond "the threat" of gay marriage and who's boinking who.

And, FWIW, having been divorced once, I can vouch that heterosexual marriage isn't any guarantee of happiness either. It's who you choose.

[Hugin]

20. I think he should call their bluff and let them Impeach...

The so-called Discovery Phase might prove interesting.

No telling who else might get shaken out of that tree. As others here have pointed out... For every
Spitzer there's bound to be several of the opposition.

But, that's only my opinion.

[defendandprotect]

24. We've lost a great deal here in any effort to keep corporations

from stomping democracy totally ---

The Democratic Party has lost here ---

This should have been a secure governorship -- a foothold --

[defendandprotect]

26. It's another Bush/Corporate win . . .

One big corporate warrior --- gone . . .

[Hugin]

28. I'm greatly disappointed, too.

What can we salvage from this?

[ryanmuegge]

29. I agree. I'd fight them all tooth and nail until the bitter end.

[FreepFryer]

30. "Vitter who? Cheney who?" Remember the DC Madam scandal? If Spitzer is impeached Cheney will be too.

Spitzer should stand his ground.

Irrespective of the nature of Spitzer's or Cheney's own conduct, the public isn't fooled when the media amplifies the Spitzer case and chills the Vitter/Cheney DC Madam case - in face, the public learns a little more just what kinds of politics is really going on in these media conglomerates' executive boardrooms.