The One To Feel Sorry For
As Dana Milbank at the Washington Post points out today, the allegedly kinky Eliot Spitzer's sexual proclivities and the political damage that has been done to his career are only minor things compared to the cruelty spitzer inflicted on the real victim here: Silda Spitzer, his wife. The ever arrogant Spitzer dragged her out in front of the cameras to share his political nightmare and to act as a human shield against the media.
The woman accused of running a prostitution ring allegedly patronized by Eliot Spitzer told one of her call girls that the New York governor had been known to "ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe."
But whatever Spitzer — or, in the language of a federal court filing, "Client-9" — did with a petite brunette nicknamed "Kristen" on the eve of Valentine's Day last month at Washington's Mayflower Hotel, it probably wasn't as monstrous as what he asked his wife to do yesterday.
In the grand tradition of Larry Craig, David Vitter and Jim McGreevey, Spitzer dragged his partner of 21 years before the television cameras at his offices in New York to announce that he was "disappointed" in himself for unspecified sins.
Silda Wall Spitzer looked like a victim of food poisoning as she stood by her man's side. She cast her eyes downward at the 183-word statement while he read it. She raised her glance only briefly, when the governor admitted he had "acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family," when he offered an apology "to the public, whom I promised better," and again when he pledged to "dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family."
The silent Mrs. Spitzer — Harvard law school graduate, corporate lawyer, nonprofit founder and mother of the governor's three daughters — then led Client 9 away from the lectern.
Silda Spitzer is the real victim of all of this. She is the one to feel sorry for, not the politically tainted and morally bankrupt governor of New York.
By martian, Tuesday, 11 March , 2008 @ 5:52 am
"In the grand tradition of Larry Craig, David Vitter and Jim McGreevey, Spitzer dragged his partner of 21 years before the television cameras at his offices in New York to announce that he was "disappointed" in himself for unspecified sins."
Seems to me they skipped the biggest name of all on that list of the shamed - Hillary Rodham Clinton. Are they trying to re-write history again by pretending it never happened? Or are they just being PC during an electin were she is a candidate?
By Evil Hr Lady, Tuesday, 11 March , 2008 @ 6:46 am
This is a phenomenon that I just don’t understand. I love my husband and support him, but if one of "those" lines were crossed, I’d be too busy emptying the bank account and filing for divorce to accompany him to a press conference.
By feeblemind, Tuesday, 11 March , 2008 @ 7:22 am
Wretchard at Belmont club is reporting via Hot Air that, "Hillary Clinton has been scrubbing her website of references to a man "who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany." " Heh.
By crosspatch, Tuesday, 11 March , 2008 @ 11:41 am
I really feel bad for her. She is apparently living the life of a woman in a relationship with a narcissist. Her self-esteem is probably shot and I wouldn’t be surprised if she were more in shock than anything else. She should have listened to her friends and grabbed the kids and ran. This guy is bad news, probably isn’t ever going to seek help and will likely blame others for his misfortunes through the rest of his life.What a waste of food and water.
By Mockinbird, Tuesday, 11 March , 2008 @ 12:44 pm
Eliot-resign your office in New York and run for President. There’s still time!
By Mwalimu Daudi, Tuesday, 11 March , 2008 @ 1:37 pm
I may get pounced on for saying this, but I don’t feel the least bit sorry for Silda Wall Spitzer. Leave out the prostitute business for a moment - she saw how her Attorney General husband ran roughshod over the law in his pursuit of power. Eliot, as Mark Steyn noted, is someone who <a href=“http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODY1Mjg4MWViMWJmOWYxMGVkYjg5ZTc5NzhlMzUzM2Q=”>”contributed mightily to one of the worst trends in American justice: the metastasization of narrowly drawn laws into all-purpose blunt instruments”</a>. She watched as her husband prosecuted anyone and everyone he could get his hands on. She knew the score before this broke: that he was a greedy, power-hungry out-of-control twerp. She was even the willing prop at the arrogant non-apology of a news conference yesterday (did she dig in her heels and say no?). So what if now she is the one getting stepped on? Did she really think that she was immune?
Mrs. Spitzer is a “Harvard law school graduate, corporate lawyer, nonprofit founder” according the Washington Post article. She is no wallflower, let alone a victim. I get the strong feeling that she (in her own way) is just as loathsome as he is.
By Kat M., Wednesday, 12 March , 2008 @ 10:53 am
Having been there, I can tell you that she is experiencing swings between extreme shock and depression and rage. When I first found out, I broke my toe trying to kick my husband somewhere that was apparently more important to him than our marriage and our kids. Speaking of kids, his daughters must be mortified. Hanging is too good for him.