<p>“Same as always, ZM. Joe and Sheldon.”</p>
<p>Now why couldn’t we find a hooker in Shelly’s life? Financial misdealings and flat-out dishonesty haven’t discredited him. He’d probably have to have bodies buried in his yard, and then he’d still weasel out.</p>
<p>zoosermom, you’re making many assumptions in your speculation as to Silda Spitzer’s motives. Not only that, you’re making assumptions as to how his parents feel about what he’s done. I’m not sure why you feel the need to do this. You have no idea what she was thinking, or why she chose to be by his side, or how his extended family is feeling today. The fact that his family is wealthy has nothing to do with this. As I said before, even if she does, at some point, make the decision to end the marriage, the fact that she was there yesterday will make not one iota of difference in any settlement.</p>
<p>40 news trucks at the Capital building waiting for the letter to arrive from Manhattan…</p>
<p>“Now why couldn’t we find a hooker in Shelly’s life?” Hmmm, I think there’s a lobbyist in the picture… (no crime there, darn it)</p>
<p>Maybe Spitzer’s wife took her marriage vows seriously, and decided to stand beside him “from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part.” I would say that this qualifies for the “worse” part of that.
As for whether this crime was worse than Clinton’s, Larry Craig’s, or anybody else’s, it seems to me that we react most strongly to hypocrasy, especially when the person actually punished others for doing what he is doing.</p>
<p>“zoosermom, you’re making many assumptions in your speculation as to Silda Spitzer’s motives. Not only that, you’re making assumptions as to how his parents feel about what he’s done. I’m not sure why you feel the need to do this.”</p>
<p>Actually, I’m not. You’re making assumptions and it’s fine that we don’t agree, but you are projecting a little far.</p>
<p>The speculation that she is protecting her marriage is speculation, also, but something you find more palatable. That’s your opinion and it’s fine. It is my opinion that Mrs. Spitzer needs to be smart and prepared. I admire the fact that she has so far done so. You may not find those traits admirable, but I do, and we don’t have to share the same opinions.</p>
<p>I think his family wealth has everything to do with it. Whether or not she knew it when she married him, he is a very arrogant & vindictive man who wields enormous power by virture of his wealth. Even if she was not aware of him visiting prostitutes, she was certainly aware of many, many ethical lapses over his career. She may have felt trapped in the marriage. Who knows. I’d like to think I’d have the backbone to get out of a situation like taht, but I might be too afraid & weak. It’s so far from my average middleclass world that I really can’t say if I’d have dumped the bum long ago.</p>
<p>I DO know that the pain on her face had to be largely attributed to her concern for how this will hurt her daughters. Ughh…Can you imagine if your kids had to deal with something of this magnitude? So sad.</p>
<p>There is much more of a problem with his obvious attitude of disdain toward the legalities, which he seems to believe do not apply to him…such stupidity or perhaps obliviousness toward his inevitable vulnerabilit. Is it that power corrupts or that it distorts judgement? </p>
<p>Modern technology has so many points of connection and communication…pretty hard to cover ones tracks these days, no matter how savvy the miscreant…</p>
<p>SS, as am sure you know there are probably hundreds of kids dealing with the same basic issues today. The big difference is at their school only a few folks know about it. At the schools these Spitzer girls attend everybody knows about it. At my D’s high school a rather well-known dad (well-known in our small community) had a short dalliance not in keeping with the moral positions he espoused weekly. It was Hell for the kids. I think that can be multiplied a few times for the Spitzer girls. At least our local kids could leave the immediate area for some respite and anonymity.</p>
<p>“the fact that she was there yesterday will make not one iota of difference in any settlement.”</p>
<p>I have no idea whether zoosermom’s theory has merit. But speaking as somebody who’s worked on a few divorces…ANYTHING can make a difference in a divorce settlement if it’s meaningful to one party. I’ve seen a protracted and costly battle over the fate of some sentimentally valuable sports memorabilia. Something like attendance at a press conference could easily become a bargaining chip.</p>
<p>"he is a very arrogant & vindictive man who wields enormous power by virture of his wealth. "</p>
<p>His father is also known to be enormously tough and ruthless. I think what may offend some people with my posts is that I’m looking at this from the perspective of this lady having been a lawyer at Skadden. She knew this was coming the day before, so it’s not too much to think that she had considered different angles based upon being married to a man for 20+ years.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to me how basic assumptions have shifted–it seems that now we assume that the natural thing for a wife in this situation to do would be to divorce her husband’s sorry behind as soon as possible. Not all that long ago, nobody would have been surprised for a wife to stay with a husband who behaved in this way. People would still have felt sorry for her, but she would have been praised, not criticized, for trying to keep her family intact despite her husband’s indiscretions. In fact, some people might even have mentioned the possibility that she loves him.</p>
<p>Why does a president get a free pass when he commits a felony but a governor doesn’t? Please explain that if you could…</p>
<p>It’s a little hard to imagine anyone loving Elliot Spitzer. But, theoretically, yes.</p>
<p>“. In fact, some people might even have mentioned the possibility that she loves him.”</p>
<p>I bet she does. I have a two-degrees separation and I have no reason to think she doesn’t. That said, I’m not assuming a divorce should happen, but specifically expressing my admiration for her presence of mind and poise in difficult circumstances. Different people can have different reasons for that admiration.</p>
<p>Have not read all the post here but have a comment:</p>
<p>I am not defending him in any way, I also think he is a sleaze bag, even though he is not my governor. I loved the comment someone has made early on that one day one of those politicians should be seen without a wife standing by his side and with a black eye. Yey!
But, he is a politician, a man of power, a man of a powerful drive. They are all having extramarital sex, because it shows power. Comes as a package, I believe. He went with a prostitute - would it better if he has had an affair with a married woman, with an unmarried friend, with an intern???
He needed a service, he went and payed for it (hope he did not use his constituents money :-).
We are quite puritan here in the US. Look at France - their president had divorced his wife and married a model during his first year in the office. Can you imagine the uproar here, if Bush were to divorce Laura and marry , let’s say, Cindi Crawford?
Just stirring it up a bit :-)</p>
<p>The assumptions have shifted largely because women can support themselves more readily today. Perhaps not in the style of a Spitzer ($500mil) but well enough to hold one’s head up and carry on with life. With Mrs. Spitzer, she has a valid reason to fear retrubution from her H & in-laws. It’s only speculation on my part, but that may explain her loyalty.</p>
<p>You’re correct, curmudgeon. And the transcripts with details about Spitzer requesting unsafe sex don’t help any. There’s no place for these girls to hide, unfortunately.</p>
<p>“He went with a prostitute - would it better if he has had an affair with a married woman, with an unmarried friend, with an intern???”</p>
<p>Yes because then organized crime wouldn’t have had a foothold in the governor’s office. It’s not the sex.</p>
<p>Could somebody please explain to me how Clinton gets a free pass but the whole world is up in arms over this guy? Talk about a double standard…</p>
<p>“Could somebody please explain to me how Clinton gets a free pass but the whole world is up in arms over this guy? Talk about a double standard…”</p>
<p>Organized crime. Money laundering. Prostitution. Unsafe sex. Hypocrisy. And I seem to recall that Clinton was impeached because of his lies. Or did that slip past you?</p>
<p>
Oh common.
We are indeed very puritan :-)</p>