The Evil that Men Do, Double Standards: Spitzer vs. the Clinton’s March 12
Today, I am genuinely saddened by the resignation of Governor Eliot Spitzer. Among us, in this nation of saints, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. A man is never as good as his best acts and never as bad as his worst acts. Eliot Spitzer ran for governor as a principled leader who stood for high ethics and morals. Depending on your position, Spitzer was either a Satan or Savior. No doubt many on wall street revel in his woes. Through violation of his own impossibly high standards, he single-handedly destroyed himself. Eliot Spitzer not only made powerful enemies but my belief is that his conduct also made him expendable by his own party. On closer examination, even so called allies were not aligned with his success.
The “Sheriff” of Wall Street did not necessarily need to demonize one of the critical and vital engines of our economy, local and national, in the manner that he did, especially on the heals of 9/11. Spitzer could have taken on the powerful in a different manner. My approach to dealing with the guardians of Wall Street would have been different. In the words of Gordon Gekko, played by Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street, “Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit…….”
From the corridors of Wall Street to K Street and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., yes Hollywood, greed, corruption and cronyism are a fact of life in America. It is the essence of capitalism. In boom times, the little pigs try to eat more. The pendulum swings back eventually, as it must. Eliot Spitzer did not see it that way and would not accept business as usual on Wall Street. Ironic that his demise as our economy and the financial industry is experiencing a historic meltdown.
Eliot Spitzer’s long term relationship with a high end escort service was immoral, by most standards, but even more so it was especially foolish and ill conceived given (a) that he had many enemies looking for a reason to remove him from power (b) the level of government surveillance in a post 9/11 world and (c) his experience in law enforcement and understanding of evidentiary trails. Good men are imperfect. Great men are highly imperfect. Since the dawn of time, the evil that men do, the sins of man has been well documented. The lust, desire, base and beast like sexuality of man has been written about endlessly and pontificated about regularly. What men can do, they will do if they can get away with it. As Chris Rock has stated, “A man is only as loyal as his options.”
Powerful men with great leadership qualities and drives to succeed often have higher levels of testosterone and thus greater sex drives. The expectations and isolation of public life makes men behave in strange ways. All of us have skeletons in our closet, thoughts and experiences which if came to public light would cause us shame, men especially. I know I do. It is the nature of who we are. I am surely no better a man than Eliot Spitzer.
A few years ago, with a female friend I watched the movie “In the Company of Men” See: IMdb) . My friend was literally aghast by the conduct of the protagonist, played by Aaron Eckhart of “Thank You For Smoking” fame. As I told her then, in the words of Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men”, [ladies], “You can’t handle the truth.” It is who we are.
One has to wonder about the timing of this disclosure, who benefits and why. As one who has spent a fair amount of time in the company of publicists and news junkies, I can appreciate that stories emerge for a reason at a particular time. Perhaps journalist Greg Palast is right and there is a link between the charges against Eliot Spitzer and the $200 billion bail-out for predator banks.
Consider the current political landscape. Spitzer’s continuing presence was more than an inconvenience to powerful entrenched interests. Governor Spitzer, if successful meaning he served two full terms or more, stood in the way of the ultimate political goals of folks tied to Hillary Clinton: Senator Chuck Schumer & Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as well as Hillary herself. Spitzer’s rise and popularity posed a threat to those in his own party in his home state. Whether you are for or against Hillary Clinton, it is easy to understand that if Hillary loses the Democratic Nomination, which seems likely, she will need a stronger platform to consolidate her power. Hence her two pronged approach which is to simultaneously undermine the future Democratic Nominee, Senator Barack Obama while inadvertently supporting John McCain hoping that if she loses the nomination, McCain becomes President. She can then challenge McCain from a stronger position. If Obama loses, Hillary can run on the “I told you so” Campaign in 2012 and have one last chance at the nomination.
Hillary Clinton is currently the “junior” Senator from New York. Junior Senators do not become majority leaders in the Senate. Hillary Clinton can only become Senator Majority Leader if Senator Chuck Schumer has some where else to go. Governor Schumer in 2010? Senator or Governor Cuomo 2010? The chess game of politics…it exists and if you study the Clinton Legacy and the scandals, you realize that it is a MYTH that anything happens by accident. Everything happens for a reason. With all due respect to current Lt. Governor David Patterson, unless he is the second coming, he will be challenged in his own party or be graciously forced to step aside. Go ahead, tell me I am crazy but let’s see if you can say that in 2010.
Say all you want about Spitzer, but the man had to resign for engaging in private consensual sexual relations with a high end escort known as Kristen (Ashley DiPietro born Ashley Youmans and conducted escort business under the name of Ashley Alexandra Dupre) See photos on Gawker, NY Post, The NY Times, L.A. Times and US Magazine: Early Modeling Photos ). Regardless of one’s morality, one of the more honest transactions is that between a professional woman providing sexual services for pay and a client individual looking to pay for such services. The only relative exploitation is perhaps the middle man, the broker and what cut such individuals are taking for the transaction and whether the brokerage fee is a fair one. I mean, let’s be honest, capitalism makes us all pimps and ho’s. You are either the pimp or the ho in this life and sometimes both. But, as Heidi Fleiss stated, “You can’t vigorously pursue prosecuting these prostitution rings—I mean, this guy made a point of it—and then do this.” Truth be told, the organizations that Spitzer closed down were Sex Slave Rings. This is a far cry from purchasing the services of a $1000 an hour CONSENTING ADULT sex worker. As aptly stated by a rather outspoken female friend of mine who spent time working in the adult entertainment industry:
“One thing about the hypocrisy that everyone is accusing him of—high end escorts are not anything like the victims of human trafficking involving prostitution. To compare a Chinese woman who owes a Chinese snake head $25k to be paid off in a brothel/massage parlor or her kids in China get killed to a suburban NJ girl with a wild streak who makes a couple thousand a pop—-WHAT THE FUCK? Working at McDonald’s and waiting tables at the Rainbow room—they are both in the food service industry—A Chinese human traffic victim and Ashley Alexander Dupre—why not say that they both breathe air?”
One does wonder, however, how could Eliot Spitzer not realize that if his Secret Life of Walter Mitty were to be exposed, it would result in few, if any, powerful New York politicians rallying to his support? Instead they would privately cheer his demise. Established interests are more comfortable with Schumer and Clinton, pseudo reformers who play the game well, rather than Spitzer who made many enemies, had few truly powerful allies and who was clearly perceived as threat.
Contrast Spitzer’s activity with that of Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton has had a long and sustained history of womanizing, sexual abuse, harassment and perhaps even RAPE and he did not resign the Presidency. He was impeached, lost his law license and spent the last days of his presidency selling pardons and setting up a “philanthropic” vehicle, The Clinton Global Initiative, that has made Bill and Hillary wealthy. In fact, his conspirator, defender and protector, Hillary Clinton, is now a candidate for the Democratic Nomination.
I would have more respect for Bill and Hillary, if Bill Clinton had retained the services of a call girl or professional escort service (see: Prostitution: A User’s Manual) rather than habitually engaging in sexually predatory behavior against private citizens during his tenure as Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas and then as President in The Whitehouse. If Eliot Spitzer had to resign, Hillary Clinton should not even be a Senator, much less a contender for the Democratic Nomination. There is a double standard when it comes to the Clinton’s and everyone else.
This New Yorker will always wonder what might have been. Eliot Spitzer is wise for resigning in shame rather than lingering on and testing the will and patience of the American people, like the Clinton’s continue to do. Despite his personal demons and the veil of secrecy surrounding his personal sexual life, Spitzer is not as sociopathic as the Clinton’s who repeatedly defy logic by battling to remain relevant. They have well overstayed their welcome. So, to those New Yorkers who celebrate Spitzer’s resignation, I say have some consideration for the impact that this scandal will have on this man and his family. Personally, the unfulfilled promise of Eliot Spitzer is what I will miss most. He obviously did not have enough powerful friends.