Eliot Spitzer Sex Scandal

So obviously there has been a lot of news about the sex scandal involving Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York. This scandal caused him to announce his resignation on Monday. Now, there seem to be a few questions following this news: is infidelity enough reason to cause a political official to resign? And the question that really irks me: why is it that their wives are standing next to them during their political address/apology?

This incident reminds me (and I’m sure many other people) of the Clinton sex scandal. The main difference is that President Clinton had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, a woman who worked with him. But his main problem was that he lied in legal proceedings which is, obviously, against the law. But with former Governor Spitzer, the problem in legality comes from the fact that he had hired prostitutes, which is punishable under the law. But even if he hadn’t hired a prostitute and cheated on his wife with a colleague, like Clinton, would it have made a difference? The public already gets outraged at the mere presence of infidelity, which is understandable as we expect politicians to hold up to our moral expectations. But does the action merit an expulsion, or are they able to do just as well? You often hear remarks of President Clinton’s supporters that the infidelity incident does not affect how competent he was as a president. I go back and forth on this issue. On the one hand, politicians are human too. But on the other hand, they knew going into this profession that they would be held to a high standard. After all, isn’t that a large part of the appeal of Obama? People want a president/politician who will give them hope and set a new standard for politics. We don’t want to feel like we need to always be suspicious of our government and actually feel like it’s working to help us. We need honest people to do that.

But the thing I also think is very bizarre is that Spizter’s wife stood beside him as he apologized to the nation…for cheating on her. I’m sure that it’s humiliating just to know that your husband cheated on you with a prostitute. Then everyone in the nation finds out about it and your husband goes on T.V. to apologize for it. And it’s your job to look very forgiving and accepting so that everyone feels like they should do the same. It seems like you’re just getting salt rubbed into the open wound.