Spitzer hoisted by his own, er, petard

This will be the 150th edition of Len's Lens. Since this blog began in December, 2006, we have talked about everything from politics and religion to airport parking fees. When I first started, I had a lot of time on my hands and last year, 125 editions of the Lens were published. I have not been so productive this year, mostly because of other demands on my time.

This doesn't mean I have given up or that the (hopefully) reasoned rantings have fallen to an also-ran status. It's just that there are people counting on me to do other things. I love doing the Lens and will continue to do so, albeit perhaps at a slightly slower pace. Please continue to peek in from time to time.

To those who have made the Lens part of their daily routine, thank you. I cannot promise that the quantity will be as it was last year, but I will do my damnest to be sure that the quality is at least as good.

Again, thanks and here's to another 150 Len's Lenses.

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Crocodile tears have been drenching corporate boardrooms in New York and around the nation today (March 10, 2008) as another protector of the public morality falls off his pedestal after apparently being led by his penis.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who made life miserable for thousands of corporate officials in insurance, banking and what have you in his previous job as attorney general of New York state begged for forgiveness after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. He has apologized to his family and his constituency and at least one television station says he'll quit by the end of the day.

The New York Times, apparently in later editions (not the one home-delivered in Connecticut) connected him with Emperor's Club VIP, a prostitution ring in Washington, D.C. that rates call girls with diamonds (just like AAA rates hotels and restaurants) and where well-heeled and horny men might pay as much as $5,500 an hour for a 7-diamond-rated hooker. That's $31,000 a day (dawn to dawn, as it says on the club's Web site). A five-diamond young woman is described as having a master's degree in public (and one suspects, private) relations. For the $15,000 that a day with this person would cost, I would hope so.

Anyway, enough of that. Spitzer, who was sheriff of Wall Street and drove many corporate lawyers to the Blue Label, should have known that a high-priced sex service such as Emperor's Club must draw the attention of the watchers of others' morals who rule Washington. But, like many men in his position, he is led around by his testosterone. As Will Smith said in the move "Men in Black", "Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'." So another promising political career goes down the toilet.

According to the Huffington Post, there was cheering at the New York Stock Exchange when the news went around.

If Spitzer quits, the new governor will be Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who is African-American and would be the Empire State's first black lieutenant governor. He also is legally blind, literally, not figuratively as is Spitzer.

I'm sorry for Spitzer's wife and three teenage daughters, who in the last day have seen their world come crashing down. Spitzer must now spend his time trying to salvage his marriage, family life and what remains of his career.

Spitzer must quit. A man who made his reputation chasing those who would bend and break the law cannot function after he did the same. He would be the butt of jokes.

Spitzer, although he has not been charged with a crime and probably would not be under the usual federal guidelines for this sort of thing, joins other disgraced governors, such as John Rowland, who did time for public corruption, and Bridgeport mayor Joe Ganum, who did the same.

It's a shame that a man with that kind of potential is brought down not by his instincts for justice but by his need to prove his manhood to himself. It doesn't take a prophet to see that this behavior has to end badly.

Until next time...