Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Maybe Eliot Spitzer can use the DJB defense

UPDATE: Spitzer jokes from David letterman, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert.

NY Gov Eliot Spitzer was caught on a wiretap at least six times linking him to a prostitution ring. "Client 9" got caught because authorities were tapping the phones of the Emperor's Club to monitor their illegal activities.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was also caught numerous times in 2004 talking to COMELEC commissioner Virgilio Garcillano re how to increase her votes and fix the elections in her favor. She got caught because ISAFP was monitoring the illegal activities of Virgilio Garcillano, and she had the misfortune of calling Garci on his tapped phone.

Maybe Gov Spitzer can get New Yorker's sympathy by using the Dean Jorge Bocobo defense that the wiretapping of his calls is a "crime against national security" and a violation of his privacy.

MORE: What Spitzer did was no big deal to me. It's boils down to sex. It doesn't compare to Arroyo's successful attempt to illegally alter the outcome of the 2004 elections via massive dagdag bawas.

UPDATE: from campaignspot:

I had concurred with the consensus that Eliot Spitzer's horrific scandal would have a minimal impact on the presidential race.

But if Spitzer thinks he doesn't have to resign, that he can somehow wait and the storm will pass, he's insane. And then it will A) increase pressure on Hillary to call on him to resign B) offer an opening for Obama ("if we Democrats want to clean up the culture of corruption, we can't twiddle our thumbs when we see it in our own ranks", etc.).

What's more, there was once a time when resignation within hours was the only thinkable resolution to a jaw-dropping scandal like this one. But that changed, right around 1998. Recall that even George Stephanopolous mentioned impeachment when word of the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke.

Since then, we've seen several politicians try a variation of the Bill Clinton "I'll just have to win, then" strategy, most notably Gary Condit*, Larry Craig and David Vitter. Our public life is not enhanced by politicians who take the "you'll have to force me out of office" strategy; essentially these men are advertising their own lack of honor and sense of what is appropriate behavior on the part of an elected leader. So often these men claim that they are "taking responsibility" for their actions. Sorry, attending counseling and a prayer meeting or two doesn't cut it.

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